Slender mongoose

Introduction: The slender mongoose (Galerella sanguinea) is a very common species of mongoose, with a long and slender body, (hence the name) and short legs. They are active during the day but if there is sufficient moonlight, they will also hunt at night. Slender mongooses readily climb trees, unlike other mongoose species. There are up to forty subspecies of the slender mongoose and eagles rank amongst their main predators.

Slender mongoose are found mostly on savannah and semi-arid plain type areas. They live alone or in pairs and are non-territorial, although they will maintain a home range that is overlapped by others.

Distribution: They have a wide distribution in Namibia except for in the Namib Desert and along the Orange River in the south.

Diet: The slender mongoose has a similar diet to most other mongooses and feed upon insects, snakes, lizards, birds, rodents, amphibians, carrion, eggs and occasionally fruit.

Colouring: The colour of their fur varies greatly between the different subspecies from dark reddish/brown to an orange/brown, yellow and grey. They often appear speckled and the tail has a prominent black or red tip.

Breeding: Slender mongoose can breed several times per year and after a gestation period of 60 - 70 days, a litter of between 1 - 3 pups are born in a den. Caring for their young is the sole responsibility of the female. Dens are in sheltered areas, such as a hollow log or a crevice between rocks. They are known to share their dens with other species of mongooses.

Size: The slender mongoose have a body length of between 28 and 40cm. The tail has is between 23 and 33cm and they weigh between 460 and 715g. Adult males tend to be slightly larger than adult females.