Mongoose, Slender

Lifestyle, Behaviour & Social Life

Solitary
Non-territorial
Diurnal

Slender mongoose are diurnal and predominantly solitary, they come together mainly to mate.

Mongooses are late starters – in the mornings, they can be seen lazy warming up in the sun, often streching on their favorite termite mound.

During the day, they are very energetic and often seen running along roads or pathways, tail low with only the dark tip raised, nose to the ground, and back arched. When pursued, the tail flips up into a vertical position. When disturbed, they may stand motionless. They seem curious and playful. When my neighbours once left their broom laying outside, I saw a mongoose using it as a scratch post. He constantly rubbed against it and seemed to enjoy it.

They are kind of territorial and maintain home ranges. Males hold large home ranges that encompass or overlap with several female territories. Dens are often found in termite mounds, rock piles, ground holes or in cavities at tree bases. Slender mongooses are experienced tree climbers and often seen hunting nesting birds there and stealing eggs. When excited, the hairs on their back and tail may be raised. When disturbed, they often freeze or simply walk away.

They use different types of communication, such as scent-marking with urine, dung, cheek-, chest- and anal glands or vocal communication. They hiss, growl, spit or shriek and their vocal repertoire includes for example a “whoo” contact call, a “tscharr” alarm call or a “tscherr” distress call. Scent-marking is usually used for territorial purposes and mate marking and both sexes make use of latrines for urination and defecation.

Their main predators are hawks, marabou storks, leopards, snakes, and jackals.

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Communication

They use different types of communication, such as scent-marking with urine, dung, cheek-, chest- and anal glands or vocal communication. They hiss, growl, spit or shriek and their vocal repertoire includes for example a „whoo“ contact call, a „tscharr“ alarm call or a „tscherr“ distress call. Scent-marking is usually used for territorial purposes and mate marking and both sexes make use of latrines for urination and defecation.

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Carnivorous

Slender mongoose are mainly carnivorous but opportunistic omnivores. Their diet inclue predominantly insects, but also lizards, rodents, birds, eggs, snakes, amphibians, and the occasional fruit are eaten when available

They are well known for their skill to kill snakes, especially cobras: the mongoose provokes the snake by approaching it and attacking its tail and lunging at it until the snake is tired. The mongoose will then bite the head and crush the skull. Mongooses are not immune towards the snake venom, so if the snake strikes the mongoose often enough, the venom overload may kill it.

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