Kaokoveld Slender Mongoose

About the Kaokoveld Slender Mongoose

The Angolan slender mongoose (Herpestes flavescens) is a mongoose native to southwestern Africa, specifically southwestern Angola and northwestern Namibia. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, as it is not threatened and thought to be common. It has a long, slim body and there are different colour forms, a black or dark brown form in the southern part of its range, and a yellowish- or reddish-brown form in the north. This mongoose inhabits dry, rocky habitats and feeds on insects, scorpions and small vertebrates.

The scientific name Herpestes gracilis var flavescens was proposed by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage in 1889 who described an adult female collected in Angola's Benguela Province. The black mongoose (H. f. nigratus) is now thought to be conspecific.

The Angolan slender mongoose is a small, slender species with a long, well-furred tail. Males have a head-and-body length averaging 343 mm (13.5 in) with females smaller at 310 mm (12.2 in), the tail in each case being about 340 mm (13.4 in) in length. The skull is moderately broad and the ears are neat and rounded. This mongoose has several different colour forms; most individuals... Wikipedia →