African genet Uganda is a spotted nocturnal predator that resembles a slender cat but is more closely related to civets and mongooses, occasionally seen on night drives in Uganda’s forests and woodland. Genets are slender, spotted, cat-like animals with long, ringed tails, related to civets and mongooses rather than cats. Uganda has several species, including the common and large-spotted genets of savannah and woodland and the servaline genet of forests. They are nocturnal, and night drives in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Lake Mburo often find them.

African Genet Uganda: The Spotted Nocturnal Predator Facts

Habits

Genets hunt alone at night, catching rodents, birds, lizards, insects and frogs, and they also eat fruit. They are agile climbers and move along branches and over the ground with the body held low. During the day they sleep in tree holes, burrows or dense vegetation. They mark territory with scent and droppings left at regular latrine sites.

Genets around lodges

Genets often visit lodges at night, attracted by insects around lights and by scraps, and some become regular evening visitors. Watch quietly from a distance and never feed them. At night they are easy to mistake for a small cat until the long tail and pointed face show in the torchlight.

Where to see it

Night drives and evening walks around lodges are the best chances. The gorilla permit costs US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November. See our guides to night safari animals, night game drives, Lake Mburo and Queen Elizabeth.

Frequently asked questions

Distribution and Habits in Uganda

Several genet species occur in Uganda, including the common (small-spotted) genet and the forest genet. Genets are found across Uganda in forest, woodland, and savannah with tree cover, from the montane forests of Bwindi to the acacia woodland of Kidepo Valley. They are strictly nocturnal, spending the day in dense vegetation, tree hollows, or abandoned burrows. Night drives in Uganda’s national parks occasionally produce genet sightings as the animals move along branches or across open ground in the beam of a spotlight. They are frequently found near lodge buildings where they scavenge food scraps and raid nesting birds.

Appearance and Ecology

Genets are elongated, spotted animals with long banded tails, pointed muzzles, and large eyes adapted for night vision. The coat pattern — cream or grey with dark spots arranged in rows along the back and flanks — provides effective camouflage in dappled forest light. Genets are semiarboreal, moving through trees with great agility and hunting birds, small mammals, insects, and lizards in the canopy as well as on the ground. The tail is prehensile enough to help with balance in branches.

Conservation Status

African genet species are classified as Least Concern by the IUCN and are widespread and common across their African range.

Viewing Opportunities in Uganda

Night drives in Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley National Parks are the best opportunities for genet sightings. Genets are also regularly seen at lodges and campsites in Uganda’s forest parks where they are attracted to lights and food scraps. Spotlighting on night walks in Kibale and Bwindi occasionally produces this species.

Genets at Uganda Lodges and Camps

One of the more reliable ways to see genets in Uganda is to stay at a safari lodge or camp in or adjacent to a national park and watch the area around outdoor lights after dark. Genets are attracted to insects drawn to lights, and at lodges where food is handled — restaurants, kitchens, refuse areas — they are often regular nocturnal visitors. Several lodges in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls, and Bwindi have named ‘resident’ genets that appear reliably each evening. This close-range access to a normally shy and elusive small carnivore is one of the incidental wildlife pleasures of staying in Uganda’s national park lodges, particularly appreciated by visitors who have not previously seen a genet in the wild.

Genets in Uganda are most reliably encountered on night drives in savannah parks and at camp and lodge areas with low-level lighting after dark. The common genet (Genetta genetta) and the large-spotted genet (Genetta tigrina) are both present; the large-spotted has more prominent, larger spots and a shorter, stockier build compared with the slim, elongated common genet. Genets are solitary hunters that take insects, small rodents, lizards, and birds, moving through vegetation with a sinuous, cat-like agility. Night drives in Murchison Falls along the Nile bank roads produce reliable encounters, and the species is recorded at virtually every national park lodge that runs night wildlife observations.