When their prey has poisonous spines, such as a caterpillar, or noxious skin secretions, such as a toad, the banded mongoose will roll the prey in the dirt until the spines or skin secretion has been rubbed off.
Hot, hot, hot
Banded mongooses live south of the Sahara desert in Africa, from Gambia to Ethiopia down to South Africa. They spend their time in the grassy savannah, brush, and open woodland areas.
Mmm, tasty
The mongooses’ diet includes insects and other invertebrates, birds, reptiles, rodents, carrion, and snakes. At the zoo, they’ll eat meat, mice and various produce.
Do they get merit badges too?
A group of banded mongooses is called a troop, which is made up of 5 to 30 mongooses. They live in dens which are usually burrows that other animals have abandoned, and they mark their territory using a scent that they secrete. Banded mongooses typically stay on the ground but they are good climbers and can swim to avoid danger.
