Trivia question for Apr-03-2011

Today was Carter and Olivia’s big presentation at the Caring For Creation Conference in North Carolina.  They had a tremendous time and their presentation was the hit of the day.  We will post more and snippets of the video from their presentation in the coming days.  Anyway, Olivia’s turn for the trivia today so here she goes.

These guys are somewhat related to cats. Most of them have spotted coats and long, banded tails, small heads, and large ears. Like civets, they have strong musk glands, which are used to mark territory, and they are known to perform handstands when doing this. They are highly agile creatures, with quick reflexes and exceptional climbing skills.

So here are Olivia’s questions.  What are these cute looking critters?  These guys were kept by Ancient Egyptians for what reason?  Also, tell us what their average lifespan is?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to Arkte Spirit for getting our trivia answered the quickest and correctly. The sleek looking critter we featured was the Spotted Genet.  There are several species including the Common Genet and the Large Spotted Genet and all live exclusively in Africa except for the widespread Common Genet, which can be found in Northwest Africa and Southwestern Europe, parts of the Middle East, and the Balearic Islands.

Although it was rumored that Ancient Egyptians kept Spotted Genet’s for the foul smelling musk they secret which was used as a perfume, in reality, they were kept for their ability to catch rats which infested most of Egypt.  As for their average lifespan, it is reported that most Genet’s in the wild typically live around 8-years.  Here is more on these guys:  Spotted Genet

Thanks for playing along 😉