Cape Genet

Also known as Large-Spotted Genet has a shoulder height of 210 mm, but this species is short legged. The elongated body has a length of 460 mm and a mass of 1.6 kg. The thick, black and whitish-grey ringed tail is long at 400 mm. Claws are short, partially retractable and are an aid to climbing. No sexual dimorphism is obvious. Rows of rusty spots enclosed with black rings cover the brown or tan upperparts. The black rings merge into lines on the neck. The belly is whitish. They have white patches around the mouth, nose and below the eyes. The Large-Spotted Genet can be confused with the Small-Spotted Genet, the main difference being the white tipped tail of the latter compared to the black tipped tail of the large spotted species. Another difference is the entirely black spots of the small spotted genet which are without a rusty centre. The bulk of its diet consists of rodents and other small mammals such as insectivores, whereas birds, snakes and amphibians are secondary prey. Invertebrates only make up a small portion of its diet. Will also ingest fruit. Normally breeding takes place during the warmer months. The Large-Spotted Genet gives birth to an average of three young per litter after a gestation period of about 70 days. Indications are that the young remain in nests, made above ground, until they are weaned. This is a solitary species, only occurring in groups during the mating season. Well wooded and watered areas are preferred habitats, particularly forests and closed woodlands. Some dense vegetation for shelter and close proximity to water are essential habitat requirements. The Large-Spotted Genet is distributed in South Africa from the southern and eastern coast, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Northern Province and extending into neighbouring countries.

Spiny Flower Mantis

An extraordinary-looking family, the tenrecs exist only in Madagascar and have a greater diversity of form than any other family of insectivores. Members of the subfamily Tenrecinae look like a cross between a shrew and a hedgehog, with long, pointed snouts and spines amongst their fur. The lowland streaked tenrec is a medium-sized, slender tenrec, which closely resembles juvenile common tenrecs (Tenrecs ecaudatus). It is blackish-brown with yellowish stripes running the length of the body and a yellowish band running from the crown to the tip of the snout. It has detachable, barbed spines which are most numerous on the crown. The underside is chestnut-brown with soft hairs. Unusually for tenrecs, the lowland streaked tenrec is active both at night and during the day, and is the only species to form groups. It remains with its family, numbering up to 20 individuals in each burrow. They may forage together amongst the leaf litter for earthworms and other soft-bodied invertebrates, using their long snouts to delve into small spaces. During the winter (May to October), tenrecs can drop their body temperature to nearly that of the surroundings, but still remain active. This conserves energy, but in the coldest weather they must hibernate. Nesting in burrows 1.5 metres long and 15 cm deep near a stream or water body, the lowland streaked tenrec covers the burrow entrance with leaves and often creates a latrine site nearby. Mating takes place between September and December, and young are born after a gestation of 55 – 63 days. The female gives birth to between two and eleven young, averaging six in each litter. Females are reproductively active at a young age, sometimes breeding at just five weeks.