Population: usually composed of 5 to 30 animals.

Origin: South Africa/kalahari desert

Residence: Caodong, sharing caves with ground squirrels and mongooses.

Mobility: If food runs out, mongooses have to migrate several times a year.

Territory: Mongoose have a strong sense of territory and will strongly refuse other mongoose groups to enter their own territory.

Guard: For many animals, mongooses are a piece of cake, so when other mongooses are looking for food or taking a nap, there is always a mongoose on guard.

Main natural enemies: eagle and wolf.

Alarm: Different alarm sounds mean different predators.

Specialization of division of labor: As the leaders of the ethnic group, male and female mongoose undertake most of the work of bearing children.

Litter size: 2-5 per litter.

Pregnancy cycle: 1 1 week.

Breeding season: the wild mongoose is from June 5438+00 to August of the following year, and the captive mongoose is the whole year.

Feeding: the mother mongoose is responsible for feeding, and the adult mongoose will look after the little mongoose.

Precocious: Sexual maturity only takes one year.

Mongoose are burrowing animals. They live in large underground reticulated caves with several entrances and only leave during the day. They are very social animals, living in a group of up to 40 animals. Individuals in the same group often comb each other's hair to strengthen social ties.

The leader's spouse often leaves a scent mark on the subordinates in the group to express his authority, such as this behavior.

Usually accompanied by subordinates licking and combing the leading spouse, these actions are usually carried out after the group members reunite after leaving for a period of time. Most mongooses in the same group are brothers or children of the leading spouse. Mongoose show altruistic behavior in their communities. When one or more mongooses are foraging or playing with other mongooses, they will stand guard and warn them of the danger of approaching.

When predators are found, the sentry will give a loud warning, and the rest will run away or hide in holes scattered in their territory. The sentry will be the first to come out of the hole to detect the predator's movements and leave the other members in the hole. If there is no warning threatening the sentry, other members will appear safely.

The mongoose will also take care of all the cubs in the group, and the unfertilized females will breast-feed the cubs when the lead female is not there. They also protect the cubs from any threats, even life threats. When the danger warning is issued, these nannies will take their cubs to the underground to take refuge, and prepare to guard them (such as predators who will drill holes) if danger may follow. If you can't hide underground, the nanny will gather the cubs and block them with her own body. As we all know, mongooses engage in strange social activities, including those that look like wrestling or running.

Mongoose's calls are considered meaningful. They have special calls for different predators. How these calls evolved is still unknown. They are obvious examples. Meaning does not only exist in human language, although no one will claim that mongoose's cry constitutes a language.

More than one group of field researchers reported that they had witnessed meerkats performing some kind of singing ceremony by changing their true and false voices.