Behaviour
Males and females become sexually mature at two years of age. Mating occurs in July or August, and after a gestation period of 11 weeks, the female gives birth to 2–4 young. Egyptian Mongooses are blind and hairless when born, but open their eyes after about a week.
The Egyptian mongoose is diurnal and lives in small groups of 1–7 animals, usually consisting of a male, several females, and their young. Male offspring usually leave the group before they are a year old; females stay longer, and may not leave at all.
Most wild mongooses live for 12 years. The longest lived captive mongoose was over 20 years old.
Its diet consists mainly of meat, including rodents, fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Fruit and eggs are also popular food items; to crack it open, the latter is characteristically thrown between the legs against a rock or wall. Like other mongooses, the Egyptian mongoose will attack and eat venomous snakes. They have shown a high level of resistance to three species of venomous snake Vipera palaestinae, Walterinnesia aegyptia & Naja nigricollis.
In some rural areas of Egypt, such as upper Egypt, it is bred as a household pet.
Read more about this topic: Egyptian Mongoose
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