The banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) is a mongoose species native from the Sahel to Southern Africa. It lives in savannas, open forests and grasslands and feeds primarily on beetles and millipedes. Mongooses use various types of dens for shelter including termite mounds. While most mongoose species live solitary lives, the banded mongoose live in colonies with a complex social structure.

The banded mongoose is a sturdy mongoose with a large head, small ears, short, muscular limbs and a long tail, almost as long as the rest of the body. Animals of wetter areas are larger and darker colored than animals of dryer regions. The abdominal part of the body is higher and rounder than the breast area. The rough fur is grayish brown and black, and there are several dark brown to black horizontal bars across the back. The limbs and snout are darker, while the underparts are lighter than the rest of the body. Banded mongooses have long strong claws that allow them to dig in the soil. The nose color of banded mongoose varies from gray-brown to orange-red.

Viverra mungo was the scientific name proposed by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788 for a mongoose that was described earlier by several other naturalists. In the 19th and 20th centuries, several naturalists described mongoose specimens and proposed subspecies:

• Adail banded mongoose, M. m. adailensis (Heuglin, 1861)

• Boror banded mongoose, M. m. bororensis (Roberts, 1929)

• North-west banded mongoose, M. m. caurinus (Thomas, 1926)

• East African banded mongoose, M. m. colonus (Heller, 1911)

• M. m. fasciatus (Desmarest, 1823)

• Namibia banded mongoose, M. m. grisonax (Thomas, 1926)

• Schwarz's banded mongoose, M. m. mandjarum (Schwarz, 1915)

• M. m. marcrurus (Thomas, 1907)

• Botswana banded mongoose, M. m. ngamiensis (Roberts, 1932)

• M. m. pallidipes (Roberts, 1929)

• M. m. rossi (Roberts, 1929)

• M. m. senescens (Thomas & Wroughton, 1907)

• M. m. somalicus (Thomas, 1895)

• Talbot's banded mongoose, M. m. talboti (Thomas & Wroughton, 1907)

• M. m. zebra (Rüppell, 1835)

• M. m. zebroides (Lönnberg, 1908)

The banded mongoose is found in a large part of East, Southeast and South-Central Africa. There are also populations in the northern savannas of West Africa. The banded mongoose lives in savannas, open forests and grassland, especially near water, but also in dry, thorny bushland but not deserts. The species uses various types of dens for shelter, most commonly termite mounds. They will also live in rock shelters, thickets, gullies, and warrens under bushes. Mongooses prefer multi-entranced termitaria with open thicket, averaging 4 m from the nearest shelter, located in semi-closed woodland. In contrast to the den of the dwarf mongoose, banded mongoose dens are less dependent on vegetation cover and have more entrances. Banded mongooses live in larger groups than dwarf mongooses and thus more entrances means more members have access to the den and ventilation. The development of agriculture in the continent has had a positive influence on the number of banded mongooses. The crops of the farmland serve as an extra food source.

The banded mongoose lives in many of Africa's protected areas. The Serengeti of Tanzania, has a density of around three mongooses per km2.[5] In southern KwaZulu-Natal, mongoose numbers are at a similar density at 2.4 km2. Queen Elizabeth National Park has much higher mongoose densities at 18/km2.

Namibia Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo grisonax) Etosha NP Namibia

Botswana Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo ngamiensis) Chobe NP Botswana

Talbot’s Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo talboti) Saint Lucia Wetlands Reserve

Zebra Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo zebra) Scanned slides from Kruger NP South Africa