THE MUNGOOSE 



turnal otherwise, and never ventures from cover 

 before dusk. 



It makes its lair in crevices amongst the bush- 

 covered rocks, and in the midst of dense masses of 

 scrub ; in holes amongst the roots of forest trees, 

 and sometimes down the deserted holes of the 

 Aard Vark. 



Although when brought to bay they make a 

 desperate resistance, yet they are easily overcome 

 by dogs and killed. They are frequently caught in 

 baited spring traps, and are often destroyed by 

 poisoning meat and laying it near their haunts. 

 The difficulty, however, is to discover the locality 

 of the lair, for when these animals take to poultry 

 thieving they become very cunning. I have seen 

 them chased by dogs into some neighbouring dense 

 bush or rocky bush-strewn krantz, but on these 

 places being thoroughly hunted through with a 

 pack of dogs the following day, no sign of the animal 

 could be obtained, but often on proceeding across 

 a hill to another bush half a mile to a couple or 

 more miles away, the thief would be discovered. 



One night three turkeys belonging to a friend 

 were killed and partly devoured. We poisoned the 

 remains of one with strychnine, and with the aid 

 of his dogs, the following day he found the dead 

 bodies of a pair of White-tailed Mungooses which 

 had been gripped by the poison and died on their 

 way back to their lair, a distance of some three 

 hundred yards from the dead turkey. When 



41 



