- Baboon
- Buffalo
- Bushbuck
- Cheetah
- Duiker
- Eland
- Elephant
- Giraffe
- Grysbok
- Hippopotamus
- Hyena (Spotted)
- Impala
- Jackal (Black-Backed)
- Klipspringer
- Kudu
- Leopards
- Lion
- Mongoose (Banded)
- Nyala
- Porcupine
- Rhino
- Roan Antelope
- Sable Antelope
- Smaller Carnivores
- Steenbok
- Tssessebe
- Vervet Monkey
- Warthog
- Waterbuck
- Wilderbeest (Blue)
- Wild Dog
- Zebra
Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo)
THE HERBIVORES AND OMNIVORES
This fairly small, hyperactive mongoose is easily recognized by the series of blackish-brown bands which run transversely across its back. As a whole, the rather longhaired coat is grayish and the grey tail tapers to a blackish point.
Active by day, banded mongooses are common in most areas where there is a good cover of trees and grass, which protects them from the ever-searching eyes of eagles and other predatory birds silently gliding in the air above. They live in communal groups some times containing 50 or more members. The little animals scurry and scuttle around their chosen area, scratching and sniffing at a variety of objects, which arouse their curiosity, to the accompaniment of a continuous mixture of subdued squeals and whimpers as the whole colony impatiently searches for food. They consume a wide range of edible items, catching insects, snails, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes and mice, and will happily chew away at fruit when the opportunity arises. If they find a nest filled with eggs, the front paws are used to fling each egg with surprising force between the hind legs against a solid object, so smashing the shell, and then lapping up its contents.
At night, the entire colony holes up in a disused termite mound pitted with tunnels, in underground burrows, or occasionally in rocky crevices and jumbled heaps of boulders. If frightened during the day they streak for the protection of their concealing holes or crevices without hesitation.
Males and females of both species have 'horns', the foremost often much larger than the hind one, both being made up of normal hair that has fused. In the East, especially China, rhino 'horn' is highly prized as a powerful aphrodisiac. Rarity and demand as a result of this belief have led to extensive poaching of these animals.
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