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Yellow mongoose - CYNICTIS PENICILLATA
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Mongoose": "Mongoose" comes from the Marathi language of India, and their word "mangus" for the animal.
Location: South Africa.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Rolling plains.
Description: The long coat is yellowish orange, and is brighter on the hindquarters. The underside and forelimbs are paler. The tail is rather bushy and is about the same color as the back, but the tip of the tail is marked by a conspicuous white tuft. The claws are nonretractile. The head and body are 11 to 15 inches long, with the tail a little shorter. They weigh three to four pounds.
Behavior: This mostly diurnal mongoose lives in large groups, sometimes with more than 50 individuals. It often associates with species that have similar behavior patterns, such as ground squirrels. It will move within a radius of one or two miles from its burrow to hunt for insects and small vertebrates. It hunts either alone or in pairs. It is an energetic burrower in loose soil. Its burrow system is very complicated, and designed so that the entire colony is connected underground. It is common to see it sitting upright on its hind legs so as to get a better view of its surroundings. At the slightest sign of danger an alarm is sounded and the whole colony retreats into the burrows.
Reproduction: There are two to four young per litter.
Go to the Carnivore Page to learn more about all the meat-eating animals.
Or go to the Mongoose Index to study other
mongooses.
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