Background Information and General Characteristics

The dwarf mongoose, Helogale parvula, or Helogale undulata rufula as they were previously called, are members of the Order Carnivora, Family Viverridae. Among the Viverridae are 35 different genera and 66 different species, including the civets, genets, mongooses and meerkats (Online Source). On first observation, the dwarf mongoose resembles rodents, but upon closer inspection, some important differences show themselves, mainly in terms of facial features, teeth and body size. The dwarf mongoose is the smallest of the members of the viverrids and a fully grown adult weighs on average 470g and can grow up to 49 cm in length (Rasa, 1976).

The physical characteristics of the dwarf mongoose make them ideal for a life of searching around on the ground for their prey. As carnivores, mongooses must forage for and catch their prey every day. Because they are small and not adapted well for climbing trees, they must prey on ground living animals small enough for them to catch -- usually insects, some rodents, and small birds. They have short but powerful legs and a moderately long snout both of which they use while digging shallow trenches and holes in their litter or the grass clumps and soil of their desert habitat in search of their prey. Also of adaptive value are the long scoop-like and blunt nails on the forefeet which can be used similarly to a spoon in digging and in lifting prey to the mouth (Rasa, 1973b).

The dwarf mongoose makes its home in the semi-arid deserts and grasslands of eastern Africa where it inhabits abandoned termite mounds. Mongooses are highly sociable creatures, usually living in extended family groups of 12 or more individuals of which the alpha female is the head. All aspects of the animal's social organization revolve around group living, as the mongooses often forage and sleep together. Mongooses inhabit an relatively large classical territory in which they move around frequently. They are diurnal and because of their small size are vulnerable to a wide variety of predators. As such, they have developed an elaborate predator defense strategy both for protection of the adults and the juvenile offspring. Mating is performed only by the alpha pair, and matings by subordinate individuals are often suppressed both endocrinologically and behaviorally by actions of the alpha pair.