The termite mound glistened in the late afternoon sun. Sand silica caught the rays, making it look as if thousands of diamonds had been embedded by those insects in their home’s exterior. We were climbing a dirt road through scrub savannah, heading for our next stay at Lake Mburo National Park, having just started our ten day tour of Uganda. Suddenly, a cinnamon and gray nose stuck out of a hole, and part of the body and front feet rose. A dwarf mongoose had appeared to check out the surroundings [1].
We stopped; these mammals live in family groups of a dozen or so individuals [2]. The dominant female leads the group, and she may have 2 or 3 litters per year. The group hunts cooperatively. They are diurnal, and their territories center around a safe home, usually a large termite mound where they can tunnel chambers. Apparently, the group size helps them look out for predators, including raptors, jackals, snakes, and lizards. Generally, only the dominant female has young in a given year. The other members’ role is as lookouts.
Will There be More
I willed the individual to emerge from the hole entirely. Their bodies are 7 to 10 inches long, and their tails are close to that length, too. I’d not realized there was such a small mongoose. I’d seen much bigger ones several times. This species feasts on invertebrates, particularly insects, and takes eggs, small birds, or mice if they catch them. In some places, they feed cooperatively with hornbills [3]. Oh, that would be so cool to see.
Suddenly, a second one stuck its nose up beside the first. We had two, and the two mammals moved out onto the mound. Might the entire troop emerge, and they head out hunting. I looked around, hoping a hornbill might fly to greet these. It was approaching evening, and they are more diurnal than nocturnal.
These seemed to be enjoying the afternoon and absorbing the evening sun. We needed to get going because we wouldn’t arrive at our next camp until after dark. The little guy continued to stare across the savannah as our Land Rover bumped up the dirt track.
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1. Wikipedia. Common dwarf mongoose. 2025 27 December 2025]; Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_dwarf_mongoose#:~:text=It%20is%20a%20social%20animal,litters%20rarely%20survive%20to%20adulthood.
2. Rasa, O.A.E., The Dwarf Mongoose: A Study of Behavior and Social Structure in Relation to Ecology in a Small, Social Carnivore, in Advances in the Study of Behavior, J.S. Rosenblatt, et al., Editors. 1987, Academic Press. p. 121-163.
3. Anne, O., and E. Rasa, Dwarf mongoose and hornbill mutualism in the Taru desert, Kenya. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1983. 12(3): p. 181-190.
