Yellow Mongoose

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Yellow Mongoose at stays in or beside uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Marakele National Park, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park and Golden Gate Highlands National Park and other reserves. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

The Yellow Mongoose is most recorded in Eastern Cape (28% of records), Northern Cape (22% of records), Gauteng (19% of records), based on 1,963 iNaturalist observations. 43 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Yellow Mongoose on site or nearby.

The Yellow Mongoose is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park: year-round, dry season May-Sep; Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park: Aug-Oct, flowers, Mar-May; Marakele National Park: May-Sep, dry season; De Hoop Nature Reserve: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

The Yellow Mongoose (Cynictis penicillata) is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

The yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata), sometimes referred to as the red meerkat, is a member of the mongoose family averaging about 1 lb (1/2 kg) in weight and about 20 in (500 mm) in length. It lives in open country, from semi-desert scrubland to grasslands in Angola, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.