The Slender Mongoose is a small, light brown to dark red brown predator that, as the name suggests, is quite long and thin. They mostly live alone or in pairs and hunt during the day, making them diurnal. Their diet consists of rodents, reptiles and birds. They will also eat insects and other invertebrates. As small as they are, it has been reported that slender mongoose can kill a black mamba, which is considered as Southern Africa’s most dangerous snake.
A male would have a home range that would be large enough to overlap the home ranges of several females that he would then approach if he can smell that she is in heat. The male does not take care of the young. When the youngsters are old enough, they would all go their separate ways and find their own home ranges. They are found almost all over the sub-Sahara Africa, but mostly prefer the savannah and open woodland areas. They become less prominent in dense bushed areas. They make dens in old termite mounds and would sometimes share it with other mongoose species like the white tailed mongoose as the latter is nocturnal.

Story by Jacques (River Lodge)
2013/09/08