Social organization in the Egyptian mongoose: Group size, spatial behaviour and inter-individual contacts in adults

Abstract

Group size, spatial behaviour and inter-individual contacts in free-ranging Egyptian mongooses, Herpestes ichneumon, were studied by sightings and radio-tracking for 2 years in Doñana National Park. Mean group size was 1.7 individuals (range 1.5). Adult males and females were sighted alone and in pairs all year round. Family groups were exclusively sighted in summer, autumn and winter. Female home ranges (though not their core areas) overlapped, and spatial organization was characterized by an uneven distribution in relation to patches of abundant food resources. Males were territorial and their core areas overlapped with those of one or more females. Males and females were together in 14% of locations, and a male sampled both in and outside the mating period had contacts with females. The Egyptian mongoose cannot be considered a strictly solitary carnivore, but environmental pressures (mainly food characteristics) seem to prevent the formation of large stable groups. Copyright © 1993 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. All rights reserved.