THE MUNGOOSE 



evolved by the Creator to fulfil important missions 

 in the economy of Nature. As a rule, the farmer 

 does not trouble himself to become acquainted 

 with the animals of veld, forest, mountain, and 

 stream, except for the purpose of knowing where 

 to look for them in order to hunt them to death 

 with dogs, or to amuse himself by shooting them 

 wantonly. His children, with such an example set 

 them, grow up regarding birds, animals, and other 

 creatures as providing a means by which they may be- 

 guile leisure time in hunting and shooting them, and 

 by so doing 'of ten bringing retribution upon them- 

 selves in the form of plagues of rats, mice, locusts, 

 and other insects, as well as many stock diseases. 



The Banded Mungoose is so called because of 

 the presence of about twenty alternate black and 

 dull white bands on the hind half of the body ; 

 each white band on its posterior part gradually 

 shades into rufous before joining the black band. 

 The alternate black and white bands are caused by 

 the individual hairs, which are ringed black and 

 dirty white, being arranged in such a way that the 

 colours show up as bands. 



The limbs are darker than the back, and nearly 

 black towards the toes. The tarsus is bare, and 

 there are five toes to each foot. Length of the 

 head and body about sixteen inches ; the tail is of 

 about half this length, and black towards the tip. 



There is a local race or sub-species (Crossarchus 

 fasciatus senescens) in Portuguese East Africa. 

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