Fact File
Animals
Mammals
Carnivore
Mongooses
Average Gestation: 65 days
Average length: 40cm
Average Weight: 2kg
Diet: Carnivore
(eats mainly
insects)
Banded Mongoose
Mungos mungo
Habitat: Banded mongooses are native to Africa and distributed far and wide south of the Sahara. They live in savannahs or grasslands usually close to water. They are not found in desert, semi-desert or mountain regions. Often found in habitats containing termites, as they use termite mounds as den sites.
Social: Pack life is important to these small carnivores, who communally look after and protect the young, elderly
and injured. The pack wanders between dens, moving to another every 3 to 4 days. The characteristic sniffing and scratching while foraging for food is typically done individually, but sometimes there is a co-operation to bring down larger prey such as snakes.
About me: Banded mongooses were introduced to the Caribbean and Hawaiian islands in the 19th Century to control rat and snake populations but instead caused many bird species to go extinct.
