Narrow-striped Mongoose

Narrow-striped Mongoose
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Eupleridae
Subfamily:	Galidiinae
Genus:	Mungotictis Pocock, 1915
Species:	Mungotictis decemlineata
Binomial name
Mungotictis decemlineata (A. Grandidier, 1867)
Narrow-striped Mongoose range

The Narrow-striped Mongoose (Mungotictis decemlineata), also locally called boky-boky (pronounced "BOO-ky BOO-ky") in Malagasy, is a member of the family Eupleridae, subfamily Galidiinae.^[2] It inhabits the dry deciduous forests of western and southwestern Madagascar. To date, it has been found between the Tsiribihina and Mangoky rivers.^[3]

Diet, behavior, and habitat

1848 illustration

From the few studies done, the Narrow-striped Mongoose is believed to be primarily insectivorous, but has been known to eat bird eggs and a variety of small animals including rodents, birds, snakes, and even small lemur species such as the Gray Mouse Lemur.

The Narrow-striped Mongoose is diurnal and lives in matriarchal family groups that practice cooperative rearing of young. Usually, the young of the alpha female will get the most care, and often the lower ranking females' young is neglected to the point of abandonment. The Narrow-striped Mongoose creates small nests in trees and brush, and has been known to share trees with Lepilemur species, with which it seemed there was little or no interaction.^[3]

Conservation status

The Narrow-striped Mongoose is currently classified as Vulnerable by IUCN primarily because of habitat loss.^[1] The western dry forests are both highly fragmented and under higher human pressure than the eastern rainforests. The main cause of decimation of dry deciduous forest in Madagascar is tavy (slash-and-burn agriculture) by subsistence farmers, but other causes include logging for wild honey and lumber.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Hawkins, A.F.A. (2008). Mungotictis decemlineata. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 17 Feb 2007. Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable
2. ^ Wozencraft, W. Christopher (16 November 2005). "Order Carnivora (pp. 532-628)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000465. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Razafimanantsoa L. (2003). Goodman SM, Benstead JP. ed. The Natural History of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 1357–1360.