Hitchhiking Genets
Genets are small cat-like carnivores with quick reflexes and exceptional climbing skills. Conservationists were surprised when they reviewed photos snapped by a camera trap showing hitchhiking behavior never seen in the mammal before. The genet was captured on film riding around on the back of both a rhino and buffalo in South Africa’s Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.
Why was the genet behaving this way? Was it hunting insects or feeding on parasites off the backs of these large animals? Perhaps it feels this is a relatively safe, mobile vantage spot? In this article small carnivore expert Adam Ferguson from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History explains this strange new behaviour.
Why was the genet behaving this way? Was it hunting insects or feeding on parasites off the backs of these large animals? Perhaps it feels this is a relatively safe, mobile vantage spot? In this article small carnivore expert Adam Ferguson from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History explains this strange new behaviour.
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