THE MUNGOOSE 
from Bechuanaland, the Kalahari, and from 
Upington on the Orange River. It is stated to 
range as far north as Zanzibar. 
This mungoose is shy and secretive, darting in- 
stantly into cover when alarmed. It is invariably 
found in localities covered with scrubby bush and 
undergrowth. The rock-strewn, vegetation-covered, 
low hillsides are favourite haunts of this graceful 
little creature. It devours rats, mice, reptiles, &c., 
like other South African mungooses, but when 
termites (“White ants”) are plentiful it subsists 
almost entirely upon them. The termites are 
secured ‘by scratching a small hole in the side of 
the termite hill, and when the inmates swarm into 
the breach they are carefully licked up with the 
tongue. In many of the more barren districts in 
which this species of mungoose is found, rats, 
mice, and reptiles are scarce, or actually non- 
existent, and in these instances the Ruddy Mun- 
goose lives’ exclusively on termites, ants, beetles, 
and various larve. When a sufficient foothold is 
obtainable, it ascends trees in search of birds’ eggs 
and young. 
This mungoose is bright rufous in colour, and the 
tip of its tail is black. The fur is not annulated. 
The average length is a foot from the tip of the 
nose to the base of the tail. The tail is slightly 
shorter than the body. 
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