The Yellow Mongoose, sometimes referred to as the Red Meerkat, It lives in open country, from semi-desert scrubland to grasslands in Angola, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. The Yellow Mongoose is carnivorous, consuming mostly arthropods but also other small mammals, lizards, snakes and eggs of all kinds. Living in colonies of up to 20 individuals in a permanent underground burrow complex, the Yellow Mongoose will often co-exist with ground squirrels or suricates and share maintenance of the warren, adding new tunnels and burrows as necessary. The tunnel system has many entrances, nearby which the Yellow Mongoose makes its latrines. The social structure of the Yellow Mongoose is hierarchical, based around a central breeding pair and their most recent offspring. There are also subadults, the eldery, or adult relatives of the central pair. Male ranges tend to overlap, while females from other dens have contiguous non-overlapping ranges. Every day, the alpha male will mark members of his group with anal gland secretions, and his boundaries with facial and anal secretions, as well as urine. The alpha male also rubs his back against raised objects, leaving behind hair as a visual marker of territory. Other members of the group mark their dens with cheek secretions. Predators of the Yellow Mongoose are birds of prey, snakes and jackals. When frightened, the Yellow Mongoose will growl and secrete from its anal glands. It can also scream, bark, and purr, though these are exceptions, as the Yellow Mongoose is usually silent, and communicates mood and status through tail movements. (Information taken from Wikipedia)

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