Abyssinian genet

The Abyssinian genet, also called the Ethiopian genet, is a small slender carnivoran of the genus Genetta in the civet family Viverridae. It lives in the Horn of Africa and neighbouring lands, with records from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and Djibouti, where it is found on coastal plains, Afromontane grasslands and mountain moorlands, and in Ethiopia it has been observed as high as 3,750 metres. It has a shortened face, short legs and a moderately long tail nearly as long as its head and body, with short coarse pale sandy fur marked by five longitudinal black stripes along the back and elongated spots on the lower flanks. Adults measure 40 to 50 centimetres in head and body length with a tail of 40 to 45 centimetres. It is one of the least known genets, and the IUCN lists it as Data Deficient, although conversion of its historical range into cropland is thought to be reducing its population.