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We had two sizes of wooden "Out of Sight" for mice and rats, and four or five sizes of Oneida steel traps for catching medium sized animals such as civets and polecats. We also carried a half dozen No. 5 wolf traps. Mr. Heller had used this size in Africa and found that they were large enough even to hold lions. Mr. Heller carried a 250-300 Savage rifle, while I used a 6-1/2 mm.
It was probably ill, for its flesh was dry and yellow, but the skin was in excellent condition. Civets belong to the family Viverridae and are found only in Asia and Africa. Although they resemble cats superficially they are not directly related to them and their claws are only partly retractile.
In Borneo, a vast number of various species of monkeys exist, as well as wild cats, deer, otters, civets, and squirrels. In Celebes, wild pigs are found, and scarcely any other terrestrial mammal, besides the prehensile-tailed cuscus.
The Delundung of Java is a creature that bears a resemblance to the civets; and may be regarded as forming a link between these and the true cats. The Genets constitute a division of the civet-weasel tribe; and one of which there are numerous species. They are usually pretty spotted creatures, with immensely long tails; and but for their cruel and sanguinary habits would, no doubt, be favourites.
They may be regarded, however, as large weasels, distinguished from the others by their having a sort of pouch or gland under the tail, in which is secreted an unctuous and highly odorous substance. This, in some species, as in the true civets, is relished as a perfume or scent, while in others it is an extremely disagreeable odour.
A few specimens may be obtained from the extreme limits of its range, or from a locality where it really is rare, and for years it may be almost unique in museum collections but eventually the proper locality may be visited and the animals found to be abundant. Civets, bears, foxes, and small cats were being used extensively for furs and pangolins could be purchased in the medicine shops.
A badger-like animal of Madagascar, the Mangu, is also regarded as a civet: so, too, are the Coatis of the New World, though these last are evidently of much nearer kin to the badgers. Perhaps the curious creature known as the Potto, or Kinkajou, has more pretensions to a place among the civets: at all events, it deserves one in the general group of the weasels.
With regard to the Polecats of America, they form a sort of link between the weasels and civets; and although there was long supposed to be but one kind as in the case of the opossum it is now ascertained that there are several distinct species, with an endless list of varieties.
Although we set dozens of traps among the rocks we did not get another on the entire expedition nor did we see indications of their presence in other localities. The almost complete absence of carnivores at this camp was a great surprise. Except for weasels we saw no others and the hunters said that foxes or civets did not occur on this side of the mountain even though food was abundant.
We found them to be abundant in the low valleys along the Burma border and often saw them during the day running across a jungle path or on the lower branches of a tree. The polecat is a blood-thirsty little beast and kills everything that comes in its way for the pure love of killing, even when its appetite has been satisfied. On the third morning we found two civets in the traps.
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