Abstract
The majority of carnivore species are described as solitary, but little is known about their social organization and interactions with conspecifics. We investigated the spatial organization and social interactions as well as relatedness of slender mongooses (Galerella sanguinea) living in the southern Kalahari. This is a little studied small carnivore previously described as solitary with anecdotal evidence for male associations. In our study population, mongooses arranged in spatial groups consisting of one to three males and up to four females. Male ranges, based on sleeping sites, were large and overlapping, encompassing the smaller and more exclusive female ranges. Spatial groups could be distinguished by their behaviour, communal denning and home range. Within spatial groups animals communally denned in up to 33% of nights, mainly during winter months, presumably to gain thermoregulatory benefits. Associations of related males gained reproductive benefits likely through increased territorial and female defence. Our study supports slender mongooses to be better described as solitary foragers living in a complex system of spatial groups with amicable social interactions between specific individuals. We suggest that the recognition of underlying ‘hidden' complexities in these apparently ‘solitary' organizations needs to be accounted for when investigating group living and social behaviour.
Highlights
When resources are patchily distributed in space and/or time the resource dispersion hypothesis (RDH) predicts that it is possible for one range to sustain more than the original owner [21,28], which can result in the formation of spatial groups [5,16,21]
Slender mongooses formed spatial groups consisting of one to three adult males that overlapped the ranges of several (1–4) adult females
We have shown that the social organization of slender mongooses in the Kalahari can best be described as a system of solitary foragers living in spatial groups
Summary
Shape and overlap are defined by resource availability and energy budgets [16 –18], and are closely associated with a species mating system [19] This frequently results in intersexual differences in spacing patterns. For example, in response to resource aggregation, a male’s success at maintaining exclusive access to females may decrease, making it no longer possible to defend all females (especially in species with synchronized oestrus), or their home ranges against other males [31] Such increased competition among males could result in the formation of male associations that formed to defend females or a large territory encompassing several females’ home ranges against other males [21,32]. In response to short-term aggregations of females, male raccoons (Procyon lotor) form temporary associations [5], while striped hyenas (Hyaena hyaena) [41] and slender mongooses [8] have been reported to form associations defined by spatial overlap, but few direct interactions, in human induced, rich resource patches
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