Broad-striped mongoose

A Broad-striped Mongoose (Galidictis fasciata) can be found in the rain forests of Madagascar, and specifically, they stay on range from 400 plus meters to around 1500 meters (elevation), from low ground to montane jungles. It has a small (to medium) physique, if we put it side by side with the other martens of the animal world. Here are its characteristics: short legs, bushy tail, and a long head.

At present, the data on reproduction of the Broad-striped Mongooses are not abundant, experts hypothesize that the Broad-striped Mongoose is in all likelihood, pair-bonded. Ergo, they are probably monogamous, but that has not been proved beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Not too long ago, a female Broad-striped Mongoose was caught, but it failed to exhibit reproductive behavior. Reports of those in captivity exist, but still, little has been determined regarding longevity. Its cousins (captured) exhibited a great variation in longevity. One of the Malagasy ring-tailed mongooses was reported to reach past 24 years, again, this was a captured individual. But a Malagasy brown-tailed just lived up to 4 years and 9 months, a big difference indeed.

Why the scant data on the Broad-striped Mongoose, you may be asking? It could be primarily due to the nocturnal nature of these mongooses. Speculations are persistent that these creatures are social, that means, they exist in cliques.

What do they eat: they most likely feed on lemurs, rodents, amphibians and reptiles. However, some experts assert that lemurs are not part of their diet, well...everything would just be speculations, until a captured mongoose of this breed is captured, and a lemur on a plate put in front of it.

interesting fact: Did you know this- that these mongooses leave behind scented paths/trails via glands of the anus/cheeks?