They live in packs of up to 30 individuals and can often be seen following one another very closely as they move like a huge snake winding through the bush. They sometimes follow the trails of elephants and buffaloes and eat the dung beetles and millipedes which they find in the piles of droppings. Banded mongooses also eat snails, lizards, mice, grasshoppers and locusts. The pack roams large areas looking for food and individuals keep in contact with each other by continually twittering. There are usually several dens within a pack's territory between which they wander.
Banded mongooses are diurnal and always return to a den at night.
Young are kept in the den until they are old enough to forage and it is believed that they may be suckled by several females. Special Thanks to Thomson Safaris and Tanzania National Parks for contributing Tanzanian information. All rights reserved.