Gambian mongoose facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gambian mongoose |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Herpestidae |
| Genus: | Mungos |
| Species: |
M. gambianus
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| Binomial name | |
| Mungos gambianus (Ogilby, 1835)
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| range of the Gambian mongoose | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Herpestes gambianus Ogilby, 1835 |
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The Gambian mongoose (Mungos gambianus) is a cool animal. It is a type of mongoose that lives in West Africa. You can find it in places like Gambia all the way to Nigeria. It likes areas where forests meet savannas. Scientists say it is not in danger of disappearing. Because of this, it is listed as "Least Concern" since 2008.
Contents
What's in a Name?
In 1835, a scientist named William Ogilby gave this mongoose its first scientific name. He called it Herpestes gambianus. This special name helps scientists everywhere know exactly which animal they are studying.
How to Spot a Gambian Mongoose
The Gambian mongoose has fur that is a mix of grey and brown. Its back, hips, and upper legs have reddish fur. The throat and sides of its neck are a light silvery brown. A dark brown stripe runs from its ear to its shoulder.
Its chest, belly, and the inside of its legs are red. The mongoose has black feet. Its tail is mixed with black fur and has a black tuft at the end. Each foot has five toes. Their faces are short, and they have only two molars on each jaw. Female mongooses have six mammae.
Where They Live
The Gambian mongoose lives only in West Africa. It prefers savannas and woodlands that get a good amount of rain. You can find them from Senegal and Gambia in the west. Their home range stretches east to Nigeria.
Daily Life and Habits
Gambian mongooses are active during the day. They are very social animals and live in groups. These groups usually have 10 to 20 mongooses. Sometimes, a group can even have more than 40! Both male and female adults search for food together.
When different groups meet, it can get noisy. They often fight with their neighbors. These mongooses are very vocal. They use many different sounds to talk to each other. A sound like a bird's twitter helps the group stay together while they look for food. A louder, higher-pitched twitter means there is danger nearby.
The Gambian mongoose eats many different things. They mostly eat insects, like beetles and millipedes. But they also eat small rodents, reptiles, and sometimes even eggs.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Gambian mongooses can have babies at any time of the year. But more young are born during the rainy season. All the females in a group usually have babies around the same time. A group can have new babies up to four times a year. However, individual females do not breed that often.
Mating happens about one to two weeks after the young are born. Mongooses often breed with others from different groups. But most stay within their own group. While the mother looks for food, two males stand guard at the den's entrance. The young mongooses can drink milk from any lactating female in the group. This is called communal suckling. The young stop drinking milk at about one month old. At this age, they join the group to search for food.
 | Janet Taylor Pickett |
 | Synthia Saint James |
 | Howardena Pindell |
 | Faith Ringgold |
