The Sentry!
The banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) is a mongoose species native from the Sahel to Southern Africa. It lives in savannahs, open forests and grasslands and feeds primarily on beetles and millipedes. Mongooses use various types of dens for shelter including termite mounds. While most mongoose species live solitary lives, the banded mongoose live in colonies with a complex social structure.
Banded mongooses live in mixed-sex groups of 7-40 individuals (average around 20). Groups sleep together at night in underground dens, often abandoned termite mounds, and change dens frequently (every 2-3 days). When no refuge is available and hard-pressed by predators such as wild dogs, the group will form a compact arrangement in which they lie on each other with heads facing outwards and upwards.
This very handsome Mongoose was standing sentry guard duty whilst the rest of the pack was busy foraging in the grasses nearby. Photographed on a game drive in Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.
The Sentry!
The banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) is a mongoose species native from the Sahel to Southern Africa. It lives in savannahs, open forests and grasslands and feeds primarily on beetles and millipedes. Mongooses use various types of dens for shelter including termite mounds. While most mongoose species live solitary lives, the banded mongoose live in colonies with a complex social structure.
Banded mongooses live in mixed-sex groups of 7-40 individuals (average around 20). Groups sleep together at night in underground dens, often abandoned termite mounds, and change dens frequently (every 2-3 days). When no refuge is available and hard-pressed by predators such as wild dogs, the group will form a compact arrangement in which they lie on each other with heads facing outwards and upwards.
This very handsome Mongoose was standing sentry guard duty whilst the rest of the pack was busy foraging in the grasses nearby. Photographed on a game drive in Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.