Mom watch out! The three young banded mongooses in the zoo. The animals are considered very social Photo: Olaf Wagner
By Johannes Malinowski
These little animals are real gourmets! Not one but three young animals were recently born among the banded mongooses in the zoo. It’s been a few years since the last offspring.
The cute predators are real team players. “Everyone in the family helps raise the young animals and helps each other with babysitting, cuddling or feeding,” says Tierpark spokeswoman Philine Hachmeister.
Banded mongooses extensively bread them in sand before eating their prey (including beetles, frogs, snails). They crack the hard shell of eggs by throwing them on hard ground.
Less appetizing: Sometimes they also rummage through the big mounds of elephants for food…
Banded mongooses live south of the Sahara, migrating in groups through the African savannah. They sleep together in burrows, changing at short intervals. They live like in a commune. Hachmeister: “Males and females have changing partners, the young animals are raised together.”
When enemies approach their families, they warn with loud whistles.