Fun Slender Mongoose Facts For Kids

Mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal that belongs to the family Herpestidae, which can further be divided into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The slender mongoose, Galerella sanguinea, or more commonly known as the slender mongoose, belongs to the same family. It gets its name from the slender or lean body that they have. The slender mongoose is also known as the black-tailed mongoose or the black-tipped mongoose because of the black tip of the fur at the end of its long tail. The slender mongoose is a diurnal and sedentary animal. Slender mongooses primarily have a carnivores diet but are also considered opportunistic omnivores.There are 34 mongoose species in 20 genera, out of which the slender mongoose is the most common species, very commonly found in sub-Saharan Africa. This small animal also helps the ecosystem by dispersing seeds through their fecal matter. Slender mongooses are classified as Least Concern species by the IUCN.For more relatable content, check out these pygmy slow loris facts and nutria facts for kids.‍

What do they prey on? Insects, lizards, rodents, snakes, birds, amphibians, fruit, carrion, eggs

What do they eat? Omnivore

Average litter size? 2 pups per litter

How much do they weigh? 1-1.6 lb (460-715 g)

How long are they? 10.8-15.7 in (27.5-40 cm)

How tall are they? N/A

What do they look like? Dark reddish-brown, orange-red, gray, yellow.

Skin Type Fur

What were their main threats? Lions, Hawk-eagles, Martial Eagles

What is their conservation status? Least Concern

Where you’ll find them? Tropical Moist Forests, Tropical Dry Forest, Tropical Savanna

Locations Sub-saharan Africa, Northeastern Parts Of Namibia, Northern And Eastern Botswana

Kingdom Animalia

Genus Galerella

Class Mammalia

Family Herpestidae

Slender Mongoose Interesting FactsWhat type of animal is a slender mongoose?The slender mongoose (Galerella sanguinea) is a type of mongoose and belongs to the family Herpestidae.What class of animal does a slender mongoose belong to?The slender mongoose belongs to the class of mammals.How many slender mongooses are there in the world?There are 34 mongoose species in 20 genera which makes it difficult to know the exact population of slender mongooses in the world. For the same reason, the IUCN has also not provided the exact population size for this animal. However, these slender mongooses are widespread and very easily found in South Africa and other places.Where does a slender mongoose live?The golden slender mongoose range or population can be easily found in sub-Saharan Africa throughout Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Kruger National Park, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. What is a slender mongoose’s habitat?The habitat slender mongoose population prefer for their home range are tropical savanna, tropical dry forest, and tropical moist forests. They are very adaptive to their environment, temperature, rainfall patterns, climate, humidity levels, as long as they have access to a preferred food source. That is also a reason why they can be found easily in such a diverse range throughout Africa with varying habitats. These slender mongoose populations can also be found in habitats like semi-desert locations with minimal vegetative cover. They build their nests in burrows and holes present in the trees. They can live solitary or in groups.Who does slender mongoose live with?The slender golden mongoose in their entire life can either show solitary behavior or live in pairs or groups with other mongooses species. They can also co-exist with humans in villages. The slender mongoose shows sedentary and diurnal behavior, but they are not territorial animals. They maintain home ranges that they share with other members of their species. A group of slender mongooses is called troop, committee, delegation, mongeese, and mongaggle.Irrespective of their solitary behavior, during the gestation period, males would stay with females to build the nests in trees and burrows to store the food and take care of females, which has a litter size of two litters per year.How long does a slender mongoose live?The slender mongoose, in its home range, can live for up to the age of eight years. If kept as pets, given the right diet, their life can extend to the age of 12 years.How do they reproduce?Slender mongooses are diurnal polygynandrous animals, which means that both males and females have multiple mating partners for the process of reproduction. The sexual maturity for females and males is very unclear, but it is believed that the females reach their sexual maturity by the age of 10-12 months. In contrast, male slender mongooses reach sexual maturity by the age of two. The breeding season starts during the wet season that is October-November or February-April. Their gestation period lasts around 57-65 days, and the female slender mongoose produces one to two litters per year, giving two to four pups. The young pups are born blind and start eating solid food only after they are four weeks old. These young pups then get separated from their mothers and become independent when they are only about 27 weeks old.What is their conservation status?Slender mongooses are classified and given the conservation status of Least Concern by the IUCN.Slender Mongoose Fun FactsWhat does a slender mongoose look like?As their name suggests, this species of mongoose has a very slender or lean body. The slender mongoose, Galerella sanguinea, has very soft fur compared to other mongoose species living in South Africa. The color of their fur can vary from dark reddish-brown to orange-red, gray, or even sometimes yellow. They also have a prominent characteristic that makes them distinguishable from other mongooses; they have black or red tip on their tails. This is also how they get their names of black-tipped mongoose or black-tailed mongoose. These slender mongooses also have small and symmetric eyes to the side of their heads and bright orange iris as well.How cute are they?Slender mongooses are very cute to look at. Their slender bodies and symmetrical faces make them very beautiful creatures.How do they communicate?A slender mongoose uses vocal and non-vocal methods of communicating with each other. The vocal methods of communication include spitting noise, growl, snarl, buzz, and ‘huh-new’ call. While threatening potential predators, they use the spitting noise and growl; snarl is used only when two individuals approach each other during the time of the attack. Buzz is used to attract female slender mongooses for mating, and ‘huh-new’ is a distress call. For non-vocal methods of communication, they use scent by urine or anal drags to mark their territory or to attract female slender mongooses.How big is a slender mongoose?An adult slender mongoose’s body length can grow as long as 10.8-15.7 in (27.5 to 40 cm), and their tails can measure from 9-13 in (230-330 mm). The male slender mongoose is usually 9% larger in length than the female. The slender mongoose is about twice the size of a dwarf mongoose.How fast can a slender mongoose move?Mongooses are known to run really fast at a rough speed of 20 mph (32 kph). They can run really fast at the sight of a threat even though they hate confrontation.How much does a slender mongoose weigh?The average weight of an African slender mongoose varies from 1.1-2.8 lb (490-1,250 gm). But since male slender mongooses have a 9% larger body mass than females, males can weigh around 1.2 lb (560 gm), and females can weigh up to 1 lb (490 gm).What are the male and female names of the species?There are no specific terms for male and female slender mongooses. Once reaching their reproduction maturity, the male and female wait for their mating season and give one to two litter per year with a gestation period of over 57-65 days.What would you call a baby slender mongoose?A baby slender mongoose is called a pup or a mongopoe. These pups or monopolies are born blind and open their eyes after three weeks of birth.What do they eat?Slender mongooses primarily have a carnivores diet but are also considered opportunistic omnivores. Their diet depends heavily on their habitat and season. However, throughout their distribution, slender mongooses can eat seasonally available fruits, seeds, lizards, southern tree agamas, rodents, snakes, birds, amphibians, insects, rats, mice, skinks, eggs, and (anecdotally) cobras and mambas.Slender mongooses are also known for storing their food in burrows, especially when taking care of the pups.Are they loud?Slender mongooses are not very loud animals. Out of their five verbal methods of communication, only the ones used for threatening are loud and sharp. The other vocals used are either not very audible (not made with an open mouth) or are very soft sounds.Would they make a good pet?The Angolan slender mongoose is a very smart and intelligent animal and can learn tricks and follow orders very easily. They are not aggressive towards humans and are very helpful in keeping away unwanted rodents, snakes, and other insects out of the house. Their diurnal behavior also makes them good pets. However, they are still not advised as good pets for a lot of reasons. Mostly because they are known for carrying very serious diseases like rabies, ticks (Dermatacentroxenus Akari - which can cause a tick-borne disease called rickettsialpox), and more. Even though they can develop reciprocatory relationships of care and affection towards humans, they are still considered wild animals. Even in places like Africa and Asia, where humans keep them to keep away snakes and rodents, they are not kept as live-in pets. In places where slender mongoose is not native, it might even be disastrous to bring them, and it is hence illegal in most places to import this animal.Did you know…Even though the slender mongoose’s meat has a strong and unpleasant odor, they are sold in sub-Saharan Africa and is also used massively in traditional forms of medicines.Mongooses are members of the Herpestidae family, which also includes civets and meerkats. They show solitary behavior as well as stay in pairs during mating season.Are slender mongooses susceptible to Mamba bites?The slender mongoose has no effect of a mamba’s bite or any other snake bite on them. The reason being that the mongoose has mutated cells which helps in blocking the neurotoxins from mambas venom from entering the mongoose’s bloodstream. This is how a mongoose can survive the venomous bite of a snake.Even though the African mongooses are fast and sharp and prey on snakes, they can easily kill them. It is likely possible for a mamba to kill a mongoose while defending itself; however, the snake might not eat the mongoose.How can the slender mongoose survive in the desert?The Somalian slender mongoose can survive under any given habitat because of their excellent adaptability to survive under any conditions, whether dry or wet. They are also opportunistic omnivores, making it easier for them to access food even in places with very low vegetation or woodlands. They live in groups and defend themselves in a group that adds to just another feature that helps them survive in different habitats with different species. They are also very good at climbing as compared to the other mongoose species.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these coatimundi interesting facts and small Indian mongoose surprising facts pages.You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable slender mongoose coloring pages.

What type of animal is a slender mongoose?

The slender mongoose (Galerella sanguinea) is a type of mongoose and belongs to the family Herpestidae.

Fun Slender Mongoose Facts For Kids

What do they prey on? Insects, lizards, rodents, snakes, birds, amphibians, fruit, carrion, eggs

What do they eat? Omnivore

Average litter size? 2 pups per litter

How much do they weigh? 1-1.6 lb (460-715 g)

How long are they? 10.8-15.7 in (27.5-40 cm)

How tall are they? N/A

What do they look like? Dark reddish-brown, orange-red, gray, yellow.

Skin Type Fur

What were their main threats? Lions, Hawk-eagles, Martial Eagles

What is their conservation status? Least Concern

Where you’ll find them? Tropical Moist Forests, Tropical Dry Forest, Tropical Savanna

Locations Sub-saharan Africa, Northeastern Parts Of Namibia, Northern And Eastern Botswana

Kingdom Animalia

Genus Galerella

Class Mammalia

Family Herpestidae

Fun Slender Mongoose Facts For Kids

What do they prey on? Insects, lizards, rodents, snakes, birds, amphibians, fruit, carrion, eggs

What do they eat? Omnivore

Average litter size? 2 pups per litter

How much do they weigh? 1-1.6 lb (460-715 g)

How long are they? 10.8-15.7 in (27.5-40 cm)

How tall are they? N/A

What do they look like? Dark reddish-brown, orange-red, gray, yellow.

Skin Type Fur

What were their main threats? Lions, Hawk-eagles, Martial Eagles

What is their conservation status? Least Concern

Where you’ll find them? Tropical Moist Forests, Tropical Dry Forest, Tropical Savanna

Locations Sub-saharan Africa, Northeastern Parts Of Namibia, Northern And Eastern Botswana

Kingdom Animalia

Genus Galerella

Class Mammalia

Family Herpestidae

Fun Slender Mongoose Facts For Kids

What do they prey on? Insects, lizards, rodents, snakes, birds, amphibians, fruit, carrion, eggs

What do they eat? Omnivore

Average litter size? 2 pups per litter

How much do they weigh? 1-1.6 lb (460-715 g)

How long are they? 10.8-15.7 in (27.5-40 cm)

How tall are they? N/A

What do they look like? Dark reddish-brown, orange-red, gray, yellow.

Skin Type Fur

What were their main threats? Lions, Hawk-eagles, Martial Eagles

What is their conservation status? Least Concern

Where you’ll find them? Tropical Moist Forests, Tropical Dry Forest, Tropical Savanna

Locations Sub-saharan Africa, Northeastern Parts Of Namibia, Northern And Eastern Botswana

Kingdom Animalia

Genus Galerella

Class Mammalia

Family Herpestidae