Yellow Mongoose (Cynictis penicillata)
It sometimes referred to as the red meerkat, it is a small mammal averaging about 1 lb. (1/2 kg) in weight and about 20 in (500 mm) in length. A member of the mongoose family, it lives in open country, from semi-desert scrubland to grasslands in South Africa.
The yellow mongoose is carnivorous, consuming mostly arthropods but also other small mammals, lizards, snakes and eggs of all kinds.
Predators of the yellow mongoose are birds of prey, snakes and jackals. When frightened, the yellow mongoose will growl and secrete from its anal glands. It can also scream, bark, and purr, though these are exceptions, as the yellow mongoose is usually silent, and communicates mood and status through tail movements.
These two little fellows paid us a visit at our tent, and entertained us with the antics… Son naturally had to feed them, so we had less to eat….
It seems like they have been hand fed before. I’m surprised how brave/tame they are to get so close.
Great shots!
Any of these that are resident in and around the tents have at some stage been fed by patrons… they are so damn cute you can’t help it…
It’s good to know they’re not terrified of humans (yet) 😉 Their cute scale is off the charts! 😀
They are quite tenacious little fellows and I think if cornered he’d give the human a nasty or two… much like the Honey Badger I think one should think twice before being too friendly… they know how to cause damage…
Una visita molto simpatica e poi ne è valsa la pena dargli da mangiare, le foto sono bellissime 🙂
Ciaoo
Thank you Pat… it is nice to get them up so close…
How could you not share lunch with them. Their eyes are astounding. Great set as always!
Thank you… the eyes are the strangest I’ve seen.. an almost oblong lens…
Gorgeous! I can’t believe how close you were to them 🙂 Happy Weekend 🙂
Thank you… yes close enough to touch.. but didn’t dare.. those teeth are sharp…
Wonderful photos. Mongoose were brought into Hawaii in the mid-1800s to help control the rat population in the sugar cane fields. I didn’t work . . . and now they have both rats and mongoose.
Funny how human ideas for nature never seem to work… thanks Maralee…
You would be serving him chicken LOL!!!! He looks like it’s very tasty!!!
Kalahari lamb beats chicken hands down…
LOL Nice!
They have seriously striking eyes. I’ve never seen on this close up before. Nice pics Bulldog 🙂
They are unusual.. almost oblong…
Neat pictures…very nice collections. This park seems amazing!
Thank you… a special game park…
I love these guys (though ours are a little darker, and perhaps a little smaller, it’s hard to tell), without them we’d be overrun by snakes, out here on the outskirts of the city, with patches of forest and paddy fields all around. We see them quite often, stalking the lane, but they’ve never approached. When we first came the dogs would go wild when they spotted one, but now, not a peep – it’s as though the little mongoose fixed those eyes on them and told them what’s what!
I think the dog would be on the receiving end from these little fellows… there are about 5 different specie of these in SA, they best snake fighter is the banded mongoose, they move around in big groups and no snake is safe from them…
Eerie eyes!
They are aren’t they…
He really is yellow and so tiny! wonderful shots.
Thank you…
You son obviously doesn’t value his fingers very much LOL :). I love how sleek looking he is!!
His finger… my suggestion to feed them and I take the photos… clever Dad.. wont feel any pain if the bite him…
I knew there was a reason why I like you so much – you’re just so damn smart!! 🙂 LOL
OH,OH,OH! So adorable and beautiful, gorgeous shots….sigh….just feel like you could reach right out and touch one 🙂
Thanks… a little too close to sons finger, but then I wouldn’t have felt the pain…
lololol…..you wouldn’t have to get the rabies shots either!
Communicating through tail..that’s interesting. what is he feeding them?
Kalahari lamb…
It has such a glazed expression, it looks kind of stuffed!
It is definitely not stuffed, unless you mean in the overfed way…
They’re kind of cute in a scary way. I’d be nervous of getting my fingers too close when feeding them.
That was my sons hand… he would have been the one that had the sore finger… but he loves animals and would have given the mongoose the other hand to bite as well…
He must be a very good person. You can’t love animals and be a bad person.
They seem so lovely, how nice feed them… It should be a nice feeling. I haven’t seen them, maybe in some of the zoo. I loved them. Thank you dear Rob, love, nia
It is great to get up close like this in the wild..Thanks Nia..
Beautiful to be so close to such creatures and hand-feed them.
It is Alex thanks..