Yellow Mongoose Research Articles

Rabid Epidemiologies: The Emergence and Resurgence of Rabies in Twentieth Century South Africa

This article discusses the history of rabies in South Africa since the early twentieth century. It argues that rabies is a zoonotic disease that traverses rural and urban spaces, that transfers itself between wild and domestic animals and remains a potential threat to human life in the region. Scientists discovered an indigenous form of rabies, found primarily in the yellow mongoose, after the first biomedically confirmed human fatalities in 1928. Since the 1950s canine rabies, presumed to have moved southwards from across the Zambezi River, has become endemic also. South Africa is home to a comparatively large number of rabies strains and animal carriers, making it a particularly interesting case study. Environmental changes during the colonial and apartheid periods have helped to explain the increase in rabies cases since the mid-twentieth century. Moreover, developments in the biological and ecological sciences have provided insights into why the rabies virus has become endemic in certain wildlife species.

Identification of 10 Polymorphic Loci in the Yellow Mongoose Through Cross-Species Amplification

The yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata) is a facultatively social species and provides an opportunity to study the evolution of social behaviour through examination of populations within the species, as well as comparison with obligatorily social species of mongooses. I identified 10 polymorphic microsatellite markers in the yellow mongoose through crossspecies amplification that allow sociogenetic studies to be carried out. Most of these loci showed higher levels of polymorphism and heterozygosity in the yellow mongoose samples screened than in the species in which these microsatellites were originally characterized.

Vigilance behaviour and fitness consequences: comparing a solitary foraging and an obligate group-foraging mammal

Vigilance behaviour in gregarious species has been studied extensively, especially the relationship between individual vigilance and group size, which is often negative. Relatively little is known about the effect of conspecifics on vigilance in non-obligate social species or the influence of sociality itself on antipredator tactics. We investigated predator avoidance behaviour in the yellow mongoose, Cynictis penicillata, a group-living solitary forager, and compared it with a sympatric group-living, group-foraging herpestid, the meerkat, Suricata suricatta. In yellow mongooses, the presence of conspecifics during foraging—an infrequent occurrence—reduced their foraging time and success and increased individual vigilance, contrary to the classical group-size effect. Comparing the two herpestids, sociality did not appear to affect overt vigilance or survival rates but influenced general patterns of predator avoidance. Whereas meerkats relied on communal vigilance, costly vigilance postures, and auditory warnings against danger, yellow mongooses avoided predator detection by remaining close to safe refuges and increasing “low-cost” vigilance, which did not interfere with foraging. We suggest that foraging group size in herpestids is constrained by species-distinct vigilance patterns, in addition to habitat and prey preference.

Genetic structure, relatedness and helping behaviour in the yellow mongoose in a farmland and a natural habitat

AbstractThe yellow mongoose Cynictis penicillata is a facultatively social species and provides an opportunity to study the evolution of social behaviour. We examined genetic structure, relatedness and helping behaviour in the yellow mongoose in natural habitat in the Kalahari Desert, where the species lives in small family groups of up to four individuals and shows no cooperative breeding; and in farmland in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, where they live in larger groups of up to 13 individuals, engage in numerous social interactions and show cooperative breeding. The farmland population showed significant inbreeding, and lower genetic variability than the desert population, but there was no evidence of a recent population bottleneck. The genetic relatedness between individuals within social groups and that between future potential helpers and pups were higher in the farmland population than in the desert population. However, based on a limited sample, helping effort (in the farmland population) was not preferentially directed towards kin. Thus, the origin of helping in the farmland population is consistent with kin selection, but in the absence of kin discrimination, future research should investigate whether long‐term breeding opportunities or group augmentation contribute to maintaining cooperative breeding in this population.

The spread of canine rabies into Free State province of South Africa: A molecular epidemiological characterization

The Free State (FS) province of the Republic of South Africa is associated with endemic rabies in the yellow mongoose, Cynictis penicillata. Historically, this mongoose rabies virus biotype occasionally spilled over into domestic dogs, but the canid rabies virus biotype of southern Africa did not occur here, until recently. We report on the recent spread of canine rabies by means of a molecular epidemiological study that was performed on a cohort of 69 rabies viruses collected from dogs in FS province between 1995 and 2007. We have utilized a 592 nucleotide sequence of the cytoplasmic domain of glycoprotein and G-L intergenic region of the genomes of these viruses and of those obtained from surrounding geographical areas. It was found that viruses from the FS province and those obtained from the kingdom of Lesotho belong to the same epidemiological cycle with an average nucleotide sequence identity of 99%. This study contributes to a collection of data that demonstrate the increasing public and veterinary health threat posed by the radiation of dog rabies in Africa.

The vocal repertoire in a solitary foraging carnivore, Cynictis penicillata, may reflect facultative sociality

We describe the vocal repertoire of a facultatively social carnivore, the yellow mongoose, Cynictis penicillata. Using a combination of close-range observations, recordings and experiments with simulated predators, we were able to obtain clear descriptions of call structure and function for a wide range of calls used by this herpestid. The vocal repertoire of the yellow mongooses comprised ten call types, half of which were used in appeasing or fearful contexts and half in aggressive interactions. Data from this study suggest that the yellow mongoose uses an urgency-based alarm calling system, indicating high and low urgency through two distinct call types. Compared to solitary mongooses, the yellow mongoose has a large proportion of 'friendly' vocalisations that enhance group cohesion, but its vocal repertoire is smaller and less context-specific than those of obligate social species. This study of the vocal repertoire of the yellow mongoose is, to our knowledge, the most complete to have been conducted on a facultatively social species in its natural habitat.

Comparative chromosome studies in mongooses (Carnivora, Viverridae)

The chromosomes of 45 mongooses (Herpestinae) representing 5 genera and 12 species were studied mainly in tissue cultures of skin biopsies. Karyotypes and idiograms were constructed for the different species, and every chromosome was compared through all the species. All species of the genus Herpestes have the functional Y chromosome translocated on to an autosome, and consequently the males have one chromosome less than the females. This “pseudo-XO/XX” or X1X2Y/X1X1X2X2 sex chromosome mechanism is unique among the Carnivora. All species of the other genera studied have the usual XY/XX mechanism. The most frequent chromosome number in the Herpestinae is 2n = 36, but some species have different numbers. Herpestes ichneumon has 2n = 43/44, H. sanguineus 2n = 41/42 and H. pulverulentus 2n = 39/40; the remaining Herpestes species have 2n = 35/36. Helogale parvula, Mungos mungo, Crossarchus obscurus and Cynictis penicillata all have 2n = 36/36. The karyotypes of the different species show great similarities; the deviations in chromosome number in Herpestes ichneumon, sanguineus and pulverulentus can be accounted for by centric fusion/fission events, in the last-mentioned species in combination with pericentric inversions. In six species of Herpestes the neo-Y chromosome was identified as one relatively large t chromosome, showing intraspecific morphologic variation in two of the species. The Y of Helogale, Mungos and Crossarchus is a very small m chromosome, that of Cynictis is somewhat larger. The true X chromosome (X1 of Herpestes) is most likely identical in all species: it is a medium-sized m chromosome comprising 5 per cent of the female haploid set. Two alternatives of karyotype evolution in Herpestinae are discussed. Five species, not studied by the present author, are included in the discussion. Their karyotypes fit well into the general pattern with the exception of Atilax paludinosus (2n = 35/36), which for cytogenetic reasons should be included in the genus Herpestes. Some features of the karyotypes of the mongooses are unique among the Carnivora and the karyological data support the view of elevating the subfamily Herpestinae to the rank of family Herpestidae.

The effects of population density and sociality on scent marking in the yellow mongoose

AbstractWe investigated scent marking in the yellow mongoose Cynictis penicillata focusing on a low‐density population where all offspring dispersed upon reaching sexual maturity. Dominant males appeared to be the main territory defenders and demarcators, with offspring foraging and marking only near the territory cores. The cheek‐marking rates of dominant males increased during the breeding season and may have been involved in olfactory mate guarding. We compared our low‐density population with a high‐density population displaying natal philopatry. The two populations differed markedly in terms of individual contributions to territorial marking, as subordinate group members in the low‐density population performed almost no territorial marking or defence, but were the primary scent‐markers and territory defenders in the high‐density population. We discuss scent‐marking distinctions between populations in the context of ecological and social differences.

The audience effect in a facultatively social mammal, the yellow mongoose, Cynictis penicillata

The audience effect has been shown in numerous group-living vertebrates but whether it is present in facultatively social species is unknown. We investigated the antipredator responses of the yellow mongoose, a mammal that dens in groups but primarily forages alone. To examine the effect that the social environment has on their communication, we performed a combination of field observations and experiments with live and model predators on a habituated population of mongooses. Social context affected both the communicative and the flight behaviour of yellow mongooses. Alarm vocalizations were used almost exclusively when individuals were in a group rather than solitary. The visual alarm signal, a raised tail, was predominantly used by solitary individuals when predators were outside attack range. This study apparently is the first to show an audience effect in a facultatively social mammal, suggesting that even rare social interactions lead to the ability to respond flexibly to predators depending on the presence or absence of conspecifics.

Simulating the impacts of vegetation structure on the occurrence of a small mammalian carnivore in semi-arid savanna rangelands

In arid and semi-arid savannas, species diversity is strongly influenced by structural diversity, which in these systems is characteristically formed by woody vegetation. Shrub encroachment, associated with overgrazing by domestic livestock, changes the structural diversity and hence affects biodiversity. Many investigations have been carried out with focus on the structure building trees, but little is known about the importance of shrubs. Here, we present a spatially explicit and individual-based population model for analysing the influence of shrub encroachment on the occurrence of yellow mongooses ( Cynictis penicillata) in the Southern Kalahari, South Africa. This analysis is based on field investigations in Southern Africa. The results of the modelling study are in line with the results of a field study, in which the same unimodal relationship between shrub cover and yellow mongoose abundance was found. The model could explain this relationship by the need of shrubs as protective structures on the one hand, and the need of foraging habitat in the grass matrix on the other hand. To evaluate the factors influencing the population dynamics at different levels of shrub encroachment we carried out an extensive sensitivity analysis. Finally, we determined a range of existence of the yellow mongoose for various shrub covers. Model results indicate a lower and an upper limit of critical shrub densities at 1% and 38%, respectively. These limits indicate the range in shrub cover allowing the persistence of the yellow mongoose in the Southern Kalahari.

Rabies: an evidence-based approach to management

AbstractHuman rabies in South Africa is largely due to infection with the classical rabies virus (genotype 1), with the yellow mongoose the commonest vector except in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and now Limpopo provinces where the dog is predominantly responsible for most bites. Rabies is always fatal in humans but can be prevented by timeous administration of post exposure prophylaxis (PEP). This article discusses an evidence-based approach to rabies management in South Africa.

Interspecific associations of Cape ground squirrels with two mongoose species: benefit or cost?

Mixed-species associations have been described in many vertebrate species, but few behavioral studies have investigated associations between species from different mammalian orders. Cape ground squirrels (Xerus inauris) are highly social rodents that inhabit burrows with two species of mongoose, but the benefits of these interspecific associations to ground squirrels remain unresolved. We compared the behavior of squirrels while solitary, with conspecifics, and in the presence of suricates (Suricata suricatta) and yellow mongooses (Cynictis pencillatus). Squirrels spent less time alert and more time feeding when suricates were present, but increased vigilance in the presence of yellow mongooses. In a series of mobbing trials with a puff adder (Bitis arietans), a common predator of all three species, Cape ground squirrels were the most active in mobbing the snake. Our results suggest that Cape ground squirrels benefit from associating with suricates, but not necessarily with yellow mongooses. Both mongoose species benefit from the burrowing activities of the squirrels for thermoregulation and escape from predators, and a suite of other organisms may similarly benefit from the habitat modifications by Cape ground squirrels, suggesting they could be considered ecosystem engineers of the arid and semi-arid regions of southern Africa. Thus, the association between Cape ground squirrels and suricates appears mutually beneficial, whereas yellow mongooses may merely be commensals of the squirrels.

The Conflicting Importance of Shrubby Landscape Structures for the Reproductive Success of the Yellow Mongoose (Cynictis penicillata)

Shrub encroachment as a result of heavy grazing is assumed to affect species diversity negatively. However, shrubs may be important for animals because they provide shelter and nesting sites. In this study we analyzed the importance of shrubs as habitat structures at 3 spatial scales for yellow mongooses (Cynictis penicillata )i n southern Kalahari rangelands. At burrow location we assumed shrubs reduce predation risk for occupants of burrows under shrubs and that shrubs protect burrows from trampling by larger herbivores. To investigate this, at microhabitat scale, we recorded the location of 24 reproductive and 112 sheltering burrows. However, in shrubencroached areas prey availability is low. We surveyed vegetation cover and the spatial distribution of shrubs at mesoscale (1 ha) and compared it to random surveys. Group size and reproductive success were determined for 18 groups and related to shrub cover at territory scale (macroscale, 250 ha). Our results show that yellow mongooses prefer reproductive burrows under large Acacia shrubs if the distance to the next shrub was greater than 10 m. At mesoscale, areas with lower vegetation cover were favored. Shrub encroachment at territory scale (macroscale) affected group size negatively. A range of shrub cover between 15% and 17.5% indicates a critical upper threshold limiting reproduction. For yellow mongooses territory selection represents a trade-off between abundance of suitable shrubs for burrows (protection service) and the proportion of shrub cover at large spatial scales (reduced prey availability).

Shrub encroachment affects mammalian carnivore abundance and species richness in semiarid rangelands

Shrub encroachment due to overgrazing has led to dramatic changes of savanna landscapes and is considered to be one of the most threatening forms of rangeland degradation e.g. via habitat fragmentation. Mammalian carnivores are particularly vulnerable to local extinction in fragmented landscapes. However, our understanding of how shrub encroachment affects mammalian carnivores is poor. Here we investigated the relative sensitivities of ten native carnivores to different levels of shrub cover ranging from low (<5%) to high shrub cover (>25%) in 20 southern Kalahari rangeland sites. Relative abundance of carnivores was monitored along 40 sand transects (5 m × 250 m) for each site. Our results show that increasing shrub cover affects carnivore species differently. African wild cats, striped polecats, cape foxes and suricates were negatively affected, whereas we found hump-shaped responses for yellow mongooses, bat-eared foxes and small-spotted genets with maximum abundance at shrub covers between 10 and 18%. In contrast, black-backed jackals, slender mongooses and small spotted cats were not significantly affected by increasing shrub cover. However, a negative impact of high shrub cover above 18% was congruent for all species. We conclude that intermediate shrub cover (10–18%) in savanna landscapes sustain viable populations of small carnivores.

Effects of a predator control experiment on Grey-winged Francolin (Scleroptila africanus) populations

One of the key findings of the Grey-winged Francolin Research Project conducted on the Stormberg Plateau, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa during 1988–1992 was that predation, particularly by small mammals on incubating female Greywinged Francolin Scleroptila africanus and their nests, was a major cause of mortality. To assess the response to this predation, small mammal predators were trapped intensively during the francolin breeding season in two 500ha plots, one on the farm Buffels Fontein and one on the farm Boschoff's Kraal. Trapping was not simultaneous on the two plots, but rather during 1992–1994 on Buffels Fontein and during 1995 and 1996 on Boschoff's Kraal. The Yellow Mongoose Cynictis penicillata was the most commonly trapped predator species (83%) in both plots. Grey-winged Francolin numbers during trapping in the plot at Buffels Fontein declined less during a drought than those in the untrapped control plot at Boschoff's Kraal. This suggests that the control of predators may buffer the negative effects of drought on Grey-winged Francolin reproductive success. However, the increases of populations in both plots during a period of higher-than-average rainfall indicate that Grey-winged Francolin can withstand predation during normal rainfall years.

Diet and foraging group size in the yellow mongoose: a comparison with the suricate and the bat-eared fox

The diet of yellow mongooses Cynictis penicillata – solitary or pair foragers – are compared to that of group-foraging suricates or meerkats Suricata suricatta and bat-eared foxes Otocyon megalotis in southern Africa. It is shown that the diet of yellow mongooses in the Free State and Northern Cape Province differ between predominantly wet years (main prey: Isoptera, represented by harvester termites Trinervitermes trinervoides and Hodotermes mossambicus) and drier years (Coleoptera, represented by four families). Although often sympatric, and with diets comparable as to prey taxa utilised and their rank order, foraging group size of yellow mongooses are much smaller than those of suricates and bat-eared foxes. It is argued that phylogenetic inertia, i.e. the inability to better utilize the availability of abundant, clumped prey – such as harvester termites – by resorting to group foraging, can explain the small foraging group size of yellow mongooses.

Genetic population structure in the yellow mongoose, Cynictis penicillata.

Phylogeographic structure was determined for the yellow mongoose, Cynictis penicillata, using mtDNA RFLPs and control region sequences. The RFLP analysis revealed 13 haplotypes which showed weak geographical patterning consistent with a recent range expansion from a refugial population(s). An analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed no correspondence between mtDNA phylogeography and subspecies delimitation, nor between matrilines and areas characterized by a high incidence of the viverrid-type rabies, of which the yellow mongoose is the principal vector. The lack of structure was also shown by control region sequences although four of the maternal lineages shared a near-perfect 81 bp repeat. We speculate that regional hot spots of the viverrid rabies biotype reflect population density differences in the yellow mongoose that are not underscored by genetic partitioning, at least at the level of resolution provided by our analyses.

Comparative behaviour and ecology of two sympatric mongoose species (Cynictis penicillataandGalerella pulverulenta)

The activity, movements, home range size, habitat selection, social structure, density, pattern of faeces deposition, anti-predator behaviour, diet, and availability and distribution of the main food sources of two mongoose species [the yellow mongoose Cynictis penicillata and the Cape grey mongoose Gaierelia pulverulenta (= Herpestes pulverulentos) in a coastal area of South Africa are compared, Both species were diurnal. Galerella did not use dens, whereas Cynictis never rested outside a den. Total distance moved, home range size and density did not differ between the two species. Galerella frequented bush, whereas Cynictis frequented open fields. The yellow mongoose was more social than the grey mongoose, but the basic social structure was similar. Faeces of Cynictis were found in large clumps close to the dens, while those of Galerella were more scattered. This parallels the greater constancy of use of the sleeping sites by Cynictis. Rodents (> 90% of Cape grey mongoose diet) were much more abundant in the bush, while availability of insects (main food source for the yellow mongoose) was higher in the open fields. Habitat selection, Ihrough its effects on anti-predator and feeding strategies, might have been the leading factor in the evolution of sociality in herpestids.

A liquid-phase blocking ELISA for the detection of antibodies to rabies virus

A liquid-phase blocking ELISA was adapted to the detection and titration of antibodies to principally the nucleoprotein of rabies virus. Sera from animals that had either been vaccinated against rabies or inoculated with street rabies viruses, as well as sera from animals that had no recorded contact with rabies, were tested. These included sera from people, cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, laboratory mice, rabbits, yellow mongooses, wild dogs and lions. Where possible, the results were compared with those obtained with a commercial kit incorporating an indirect ELISA that measures antibody to the rabies glycoprotein. There was a high correlation (r = 0.79) between the two tests. The blocking ELISA provides a single test suitable for the rapid detection of antibodies against rabies virus in the sera of any animal species and for that reason is particularly apt for epidemiological investigations in regions where species diversity is important, as in southern Africa.

Prevalence of Babesia cynicti infection in three populations of yellow mongooses (Cynictis penicillata) in the Transvaal, South Africa.

Babesia cynicti originally was described from spleen smears of two yellow mongooses (Cynictis penicillata), the main vectors of rabies on the central plateau of South Africa. During a detailed study of the epizootiology of rabies in that area between October 1991 and February 1993, sets of blood smears from three yellow mongoose populations were available for examination. Babesia cynicti was found in 50 of 56 specimens from Rooiwal, north of Pretoria, in 13 of 18 specimens from near Ermelo in the southeastern Transvaal, and in 22 of 23 specimens from Potchefstroom in the western Transvaal.