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Mongooses and Fossa: Herpestidae

Habitat

Mongooses live in various types of forest, including humid tropical rainforest, also dry grasslands and near-desert. They shelter in self-made burrows in the ground or in termite mounds, or in natural shelters like hollow logs and spaces within rock piles.

MONGOOSES AND HORNBILLS GETTING ALONG

The dwarf mongoose has a mutually beneficial relationship with two bird species, the red-billed hornbill and the eastern yellow-billed hornbill. In the scrub country of eastern Kenya, the mongoose and either of the hornbill species forage together, eating the same prey, the hornbills keeping their senses alert for the presence of threat animals, especially birds of prey. The companionship allows the mongooses to forage in peace, while the birds benefit from creatures flushed out by the mongooses. The hornbills sound off with warning calls when a predator approaches, even warning at the sight of predators of mongooses that are not enemies of hornbills.

Additional topics

Animal Life ResourceMammalsMongooses and Fossa: Herpestidae - Physical Characteristics, Habitat, Diet, Behavior And Reproduction, Mongooses And People, Conservation Status - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE