One of the 4 mongooses on WAnimals
Mammals · Carnivora · Herpestidae
Yellow Mongoose
Cynictis penicillata
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
It is an unusually resilient natural reservoir of rabies: certain genetic strains of this species can carry the virus without symptoms yet infectiously for years, without developing the disease, unlike most African mammals.
Weight
450 g – 900 g
Size
26.5 cm – 46 cm
Lifespan
10 years
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Colony
Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- It can carry rabies without symptoms for years without falling ill.
- It lives in colonies in clean underground burrows.
- It feeds mainly on beetles and termites.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Open grassland, semi-desert and scrub of southern Africa
- Birth weight
- Exact weight at birth not found as a precise figure
- Size at birth
- Blind and helpless, born in clean underground chambers
- Sexual maturity
- 9-12 months (some sources give as much as 2 years)
- Gestation / incubation
- 42-62 days
- Litter / clutch size
- 1 to 5 young per litter, up to 2 litters per year
- Lifespan in captivity
- Documented record of up to 15-15.2 years in captivity
Sources consulted: Marwell Zoo; AnAge; Animal Diversity Web; Animalia.bio; Grokipedia; Wikipedia; Wilderness Insider; PMC
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, by day; it often shares burrows with meerkats and ground squirrels.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 18 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Yellow Mongoose — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Banded Mongoose
Mungos mungo
Least ConcernMeerkat
Suricata suricatta
Common Dwarf Mongoose
Helogale parvula
Least ConcernRock Hyrax
Procavia capensis
Bush Hyrax
Heterohyrax brucei
South African Ground Squirrel
Xerus inauris
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about yellow mongoose.
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