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Egypt · Nature & Wildlife · Hard
What is the Arabic name for the small, nocturnal, cat-like genet (Genetta genetta) — a viverrid found in the wadis of the Eastern Desert that is neither a true cat nor a mongoose — and which ancient Egyptians may have kept as a semi-domesticated rodent-catcher?
Answer: Qitt al-khala (desert cat) — The common genet (Genetta genetta), locally called 'qitt al-khala' ('wilderness cat'), is the only viverrid found in North Africa — a slender, spotted carnivore with a ringed tail that probably arrived with the Moors from the Maghreb and was depicted in Egyptian tomb paintings, possibly as a domesticated mouser that predated the arrival of the domestic cat.
- A Qitt al-khala (desert cat) ✓
- B Qutta barriya
- C Zarib al-layl
- D Sinnawr al-jabal
The common genet (Genetta genetta), locally called 'qitt al-khala' ('wilderness cat'), is the only viverrid found in North Africa — a slender, spotted carnivore with a ringed tail that probably arrived with the Moors from the Maghreb and was depicted in Egyptian tomb paintings, possibly as a domesticated mouser that predated the arrival of the domestic cat.