Today I have seen my first Yellow Mongoose (Cynitctis penicillata). While driving, I suddenly saw a quick movement beside the road and then saw this cute little thing running. I immediately slowed down in hope to have a better look and coincidently, I came to stop just beside its den.
The mongoose stopped, went in, came out again and went to another entrance where it stopped again. I thought it would disappear inside but then another yellow head just popped out.
They did a quick nose-stubbing to say hello to each other and then just stood there. They did not seem bothered by my presence and simply stayed there for some minutes, looking around and grooming themselves.
I was really surprised how small and fragile they appear in comparison to the Banded or the Slender mongoose.
Yellow mongoose are tawny yellow to orange in colour and have a bushy white-tipped tail. They are diurnal (most active during day), territorial and live in small colonies, families or pairs. They live in dens that they dig by themselves, or they simply modify existing ones (e.g. from Ground Squirrel or Springhare). Their home has multiple entries and a underground tunnel system (sometimes shared with other species, such as Suricates).
As in other mongoose, an alpha pair leads the hierarchy. Being an alpha means that territory borders needs to be patrolled and marked regularly. The alpha female often assists herewith. Territorial marking is done by rubbing the cheeks or back on grass, urinating and positioning of an anal-sac secretion along the boundaries. Where the own territory borders to another clan, this can be done every metre.
Talking about marking … the alpha male will not only assure that territory boundaries are scent-marked, he is even doing it with his whole family: in the morning, he will literally jump on the family members and – on landing – will release a small portion of anal-pouch secretion.
Apart from smell, they also communicate visually, especially with their tail, and vocally. Warning growls, hissing, screaming, barking and even purring is part of their vocabulary.
Have a lovely day,
Sininho
Sininho´s World 
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