Yellow mongoose.. Kalahari Gemsbok Park.

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….

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42 thoughts on “Yellow mongoose.. Kalahari Gemsbok Park.

    • 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…

  1. 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…

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