~ This page was made as part of an undergraduate course at Davidson College ~
General Summary
Two dwarf mongooses bask on the rocks under the sun [Photo courtesy of Daryl and Sharna Balfour, African Wildlife Foundation]
Dwarf mongooses are a special animals-- they are the smallest carnivores, they are among the extremely few number of monogamous mammalian species, and they're just darn cute! If, like me, you'd like to go see some of these very cool animals, you can either go to your local zoo (if you're lucky enough) or you can travel to Africa and see them in their own habitat (if you're even luckier!) "Let's go steal a picnic basket from Mr. Ranger Sir" (Yogi Bear) and go find some dwarf mongooses! Dwarf mongooses can be found in most of the southeastern portions of Africa (please see my Background Info and Habitat page). Once you get there, scout out an area that has some termite mounds, clumps of vegetation, or other hiding places. Dwarf mongooses live in small territories (preferably a termite mound) called a den within a larger home range. They travel from den to den (there are 10-20 dens in a single home range) while foraging, and then settle down in one to sleep in at night. A typical day begins with sunbathing and grooming, then foraging. Young play in the sun, and if they are too young to forage, they remain at the nest with a babysitter. Their foraging behavior is quite interesting; they hunt under the protection of both themselves as well as other species (please see my Social Cooperation page).