Dave Taylor's African Safari: Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores - Banded Mongoose

Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores
Banded Mongoose
Page 44

Mungos mungo

Length: 30-45 cm (13-16")

Tail: 15-30 cm (6-11")

Weight: 1.5-2.25 kg (2.2-4.4 lb.)

Status: Not endangered; common

Habitat: Banded mongooses are found in woodlands, savannas and grasslands of East and Central Africa. They are also found where rainforests have been cleared for cultivation.

Like the dwarf mongoose, they favor land where there are numbers of termitaries which they use for burrows and dens. They can tolerate arid conditions but will drink sparingly when water is available.

Food: Termites and beetle larvae make up the largest bulk of their diet. They also eat crickets, grasshoppers, ants, millipedes, spiders, other invertebrates and small vertebrates such as mice, snakes, lizards and toads. Banded mongoose clans forage in loose groups that keep in touch by making frequent churrs, chirps and twitters.

Social System: A pack of these animals can number up to 40 members. Larger groups will sub-divide into smaller ones of 15 to 20 members. Usually, there will be three or four breeding females and one dominant male in a pack. Banded mongoose packs are the largest seen of any species of mongoose.

Hierarchies are based on age, size and individual aggressiveness rather than sex alone. Pack loyalty is strong and the pack will remain as a unit for several years. To reinforce relationships, the pack will scent mark objects and each other. They also groom each other. Most often it will be a dominant female that leads the pack.

Territories can be as large as 130 hectares (321 acres). Packs will defend their range when they meet up with another rival pack on their mutual boundaries. Membership in a pack is quite stable. Young males will migrate to other packs.

Behavior: Up to four young are born after a two month gestation period. Any lactating female will nurse any of the young. All pregnant females deliver their young around the same time. The time for giving birth varies from pack to pack however. Most births occur during the rainy season.

A female will have up to four litters per year. Within a week of giving birth, the female will mate again. Gestation lasts two months. Over half of the young die in the first three months of life.

Young mongooses emerge from the den when they are little less than a month old. They join the foraging pack when they are five weeks old. When they are too small to join in foraging, one or two pack members will stay on guard while the babies’ mother forages. The others return in two to four hours and the sentries go and find their own food.

A typical day for the pack begins when they emerge from their burrow or den well after dawn. Upon emerging, all members will use the same latrine to relieve themselves. This is followed by grooming, scratching and play. Then all of the pack will go and forage for two or three hours until the heat of the day builds up. Then they seek shade and rest until it cools and they begin to forage again. A half hour before sunset they are back at their burrow and by dark, they are safely huddled together.

The den they use each night may be a different one from the one they started the day in. At other times, a den will be used for two months in a row. They may range several kilometers (miles) from their starting point if food is scarce.

Banded mongooses are referred to by many tourist guides in Kenya as "Kenyan Kangaroos" because of their habit of standing on their back legs when they are looking for danger. This does make them look like miniature kangaroos.

Predators: Faced with a small predator such as a jackal or serval, the pack will unite to chase them off. Even so, many fall prey to eagles, snakes, jackals and small cats. Leopards are a threat as well.

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