Sokoke dog mongoose (''Bdeogale omnivora'') is a

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family has two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, A ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

endemic to the East African coastal forests of Tanzania and Kenya.

Distribution

The species was first observed from Amani Nature Reserve in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

in 1939. Since then the species was not recorded from the country. However, in July 2003 during a bird watching excursion, the mongoose was observed by some ornithologists. During camera trap surveys in 2019, the species was identified from two

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

n coastal forests: Boni-Dodori Forest Complex (ca. 4000 km²); and

Arabuko Sokoke National Park The Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve is located on the coast of Kenya, 110 km north of Mombasa and is protected as a national Forest Reserve. The Arabuko Sokoke National Park, situated at the north-western edge of the Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reser ...

(416 km²).

Characteristics

It is closely related to ''

Bdeogale crassicauda The bushy-tailed mongoose (''Bdeogale crassicauda'') is a mammal in the family Herpestidae found in central Africa, from southern Kenya to central Mozambique. Characteristics The bushy-tailed mongoose has a greyish to yellowish brown fur. The ...

'', but primarily differ in coat color and smaller size. Body covered with yellow to orange underfur and grizzled dark brown guard hairs with lighter annulations. Limbs are dark chocolate brown to black in color. Head small with rounded ears. Tail bushy and short.

Habitat and behavior

Many individuals were captured from ''

Brachystegia ''Brachystegia'' is a genus of tree of the subfamily Detarioideae that is native to tropical Africa. Trees of the genus are commonly known as miombo, and are dominant in the miombo woodlands of central and southern tropical Africa. The Zambezia ...

'' woodland habitat. They are strictly nocturnal animals.

References

External links

{{Carnivora, F. Sokoke dog mongoose Mammals of Kenya Mammals of Tanzania Sokoke dog mongoose