Civet Absolute
Origin: Ethiopia

• Details and product description

  Introduction:

  The civet is a nocturnal, carnivorous mammal, with a grey-yellowish and black-stained coat, looking like the marten, 30 - 40 cm tall, and a heavy 10 - 12 kg. Their colour is black with white or yellowish spots, stripes and bands. The long and coarse hair is very thick on the tail. They are nocturnal and solitary hunters of small mammals, birds and reptiles, but they also eat roots and fruit. Civets are partial to scrub forest and are said to breed twice a year. The perineal glands under the tail contain the oily scented matter used commercially in making perfume. In captivity, civets have lived more than 28 years. Different species : 1) Viverra civetta Schreber (African civet) 2) Viverra zibetha L. (Large Indian civet) The large Indian civet can be distinguished from its smaller counterpart by the erectile crest of black hair that runs along the middle of its back; adults average a length of 1.2 m, including the tail. It is generally a grizzled greyish brown, with white and black bars along their neck (usually two white stripes and three black stripes), stripes on the tail, and a white muzzle. Their claws are retractable and they have hair in between their paw pads. 3) Viverricula indica (Small Indian civet) This animal usually measures less than 1 m. This civet prefers inhabited areas where they can hunt rodents and other small animals, and obtain fruits and vegetables easily. The Javanese species of civet cat is called Rasse. 4) Civetticitis civetta (Ethiopia). 

  History:

  In the Middle Ages, the civet was used to perfume the gloves of the Italians and Spanish. Arab women were said to use civet for beautifying the hair and eyebrows. Long ago, unrefined Ethiopian civet paste was shipped in zebu horns large enough to contain up to 2 1/2 pounds of the yellow substance, which darkened and hardened over time. The contents of the horn amounted to four years of civet extraction.

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