Social organization of a solitary carnivore: spatial behaviour, interactions and relatedness in the slender mongoose.

ABSTRACT: The majority of carnivore species are described as solitary, but little is known about their social organization and interactions with conspecifics. We investigated the spatial organization and social interactions as well as relatedness of slender mongooses (Galerella sanguinea) living in the southern Kalahari. This is a little studied small carnivore previously described as solitary with anecdotal evidence for male associations. In our study population, mongooses arranged in spatial groups consisting of one to three males and up to four females. Male ranges, based on sleeping sites, were large and overlapping, encompassing the smaller and more exclusive female ranges. Spatial groups could be distinguished by their behaviour, communal denning and home range. Within spatial groups an

SUBMITTER: Graw B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6549956 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature