• anon6789@lemmy.world
      1·
      25 days ago

      Are the genets big? I have never seen one, so I don’t really have a mental image of one.

      I always remember this post of a Milky Owl that caught a genet and it seemed pretty sizeable, though without having seen either animal, I wasn’t really sure.

      • quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        2·
        25 days ago

        I’ve never been too close to one, the one in the picture felt safe enough up on that tree that it stayed there looking back at me. It was about the size on a large cat, more svelte but longer.

        • anon6789@lemmy.world
          2·
          25 days ago

          Thank you, that’s very helpful!

          Our “small” wild cat in the the US is the bobcat (Lynx rufus.)

          The adult bobcat is 47.5–125 cm (18.7–49.2 in) long from the head to the base of its distinctive stubby tail, averaging 82.7 cm (32.6 in); the tail is 9 to 20 cm (3.5 to 7.9 in) long. Its “bobbed” appearance gives the species its name. An adult stands about 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in) at the shoulders.

          Adult males can range in weight from 6.4–18.3 kg (14–40 lb), with an average of 9.6 kg (21 lb); females at 4–15.3 kg (8.8–33.7 lb), with an average of 6.8 kg (15 lb). The largest bobcat accurately measured on record weighed 22.2 kg (49 lb), although unverified reports have them reaching 27 kg (60 lb). Furthermore, a June 20, 2012, report of a New Hampshire roadkill specimen listed the animal’s weight at 27 kg (60 lb).

          My brain hears “wild cat” and just registers “sabre tooth cat of indeterminate size.” 😅

          It sound like the genet is the same length, but nowhere near the mass.

          At around 2kg, that’s the upper limit of the prey range for the Great Horned Owl, our strongest owl, so now I have a really good perspective on the genet and the Milky Eagle Owl.