Mongooses have different diets to avoid fighting over food

Mongooses have different diets to avoid fighting over food Today’s Video of the Day comes from the University of Exeter and features a look at a banded mongoose gobbling up termites.

According to the new research, mongooses who live in groups develop their own personalized diets so that they don’t have to fight with each other over food.  Also Mongooses do tend to have quite a few diet variations, especially those who are domesticated. They prefer meat but will occasionally eat fruits, seeds, and nuts.  Domesticated mongooses also may have a sweet tooth and may crave small sweet foods.

“Social animals can gain many benefits from group living, but they also suffer from competition over shared food resources,” said Professor Michael Cant from the University of Exeter.

As a result, these mongooses have their own “niche” diets to avoid conflict. Mongooses are noted for their audacious attacks on highly venomous snakes, such as king cobras. What do mongooses eat? Mongooses eat small mammals, birds, reptiles, eggs, and occasionally fruit. A number of mongooses, especially those of the genus Herpestes, will attack and kill venomous snakes for food.

Different species of mongoose have different conservation needs. Some species are impacted by habitat destruction but others have stable populations. Stripe-necked mongoose. Animals fight for various reasons. They can do this in defense, or as a way of keeping predators out of their feeding zone. Fights between the mongoose and cobra have gained popularity throughout history because of how fiercely they end.

Mongooses eat small mammals, birds, reptiles, eggs, and occasionally fruit. A number of mongooses, especially those of the genus Herpestes, will attack and kill venomous snakes for food. Mongooses have different diets to avoid fighting over food as seen above in video which also shows the way they hunt for their food as well.

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By Rory Arnold, Earth.com Staff Writer

Video Credit: Harry Marshall