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Species
Herpestes pulverulentus (Wagner, 1839)
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
This widespread species has an elongated body with varying tints of grey to give it a grizzled appearance. Its small, round ears are situated on the sides of its long head that ends in a pointed muzzle. Its long, bushy tail is usually held parallel to the ground.
Cape grey mongoose is solitary and feeds predominantly on rodents and insects. Although, they do supplement their diet with birds, reptiles and other opportunistic prey items.
These mongooses are diurnal and only occasionally seen in pairs during mating season. They use ground holes made by other species as dens for their litter of 1 -3 young from August to December.
The IUCN Red List classifies Cape grey mongoose as a species of least concern in terms of conservation priorities. They have a wide habitat tolerance and are often seen along urban fringes. Chances are that if you haven’t seen a Cape grey mongoose before, you clearly need to get out more.
For more information on MammalMAP, visit the MammalMAP virtual museum or blog.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | MammalMAP, MammalMAP |
Source | http://mammalmap.blog.com/2013/07/08/cape-grey-mongoose/ |
This species is endemic to southern Africa, ranging throughout the Northern Cape (with one record from near the Botswana border), Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa, with a marginal intrusion into southern Namibia, east to Lesotho and extreme western KwaZulu-Natal (Cavallini 2013). In 1990, an animal was trapped in Wakkerstroom, Mpumalanga, 200 km north of known records in KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho (Bronner 1990). It is present from sea level around the Western Cape to 1,900 m asl in KwaZulu-Natal (Cavallini 2013).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/41600 |
Habitat and Ecology
Systems
- Terrestrial
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/41600 |
Maximum longevity: 11.7 years (captivity) Observations: One specimen lived 11.7 years in captivity (Richard Weigl 2005). Maximum longevity could be underestimated, though.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002 - 2009 by Joao Pedro de Magalhaes |
Source | http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Galerella_pulverulenta |
Red List Criteria
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Contributor/s
Justification
History
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Least Concern (LC)
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1996Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/41600 |
Population
Population Trend
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/41600 |
Major Threats
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/41600 |
Conservation Actions
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/41600 |