Galerella pulverulenta
The Cape, or Small, Grey Mongoose is a commonly encountered small carnivore, thanks to its diurnal habits, They occupy a wide variety of habitats, ranging from semi-desert scrub to mountains and coastal thickets, and subsist on a diet of rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, carrion and wild fruits.
Weighing in at between 500 and 1,250g, with a length of up to 75cm (excluding the tail), the Cape Grey Mongoose is usually solitary, and moves through their small home range along well used pathways. At night they lie up in thickets, piles of rocks or in tunnels dug by other animals. These sites are also used as dens where females give birth to litters of 1-3 young, mostly between August and December. They have a natural life expectancy of about 8 years.
The Cape Grey Mongoose occurs only in South Africa (Kwazulu-Natal. Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape), and marginally into Lesotho and Namibia. Thanks to a common, stable population the IUCN evaluates it as being of least concern.
They look cute for a few minutes but I bet they can be mean little critters!
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They’re excellent at making the most of every opportunity to get food!
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Very beautiful animal, and I can believe it´s close to invisible in the bushes, it have a strong camouflage and sure is melted in to the plants.
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That “slinky” body makes good use of any cover, that’s for sure John!
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Hi guys. I love mongoose. They take me back to my childhood reading of Rudyard Kipling. There are quite a few mongoose in the bush near where I live but they are the banded variety.
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Hi Kim! I like mongooses too, could watch them for hours!
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This guy looked small and kind of cute in the header photo, but then I saw that tail….!!! Not so cute anymore!
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You should see them moving around in real life, Lois, then you’d be convinced of their cuteness!
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