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Interactions

   They yellow mongoose is known to have interactions with meerkats  and ground squirrels.  They share their burrows or dens with them, and also share food when it is plentiful.  It is predatory towards many insects such as termites, ants, or beetles, and they also can be predatory toward some vertebrates like lizards, frogs, birds, and snakes.  However, the yellow mongoose can be food for other organisms.  The yellow mongoose is prey to some types of birds specifically the birds of prey, snakes, and jackals.  Take a look at two birds of prey, the bald eagle and the peregrine falcon. They also have interactions with each other.  They typically live in colonies of 8-20 mongoose and share their dens.  They sometimes also hunt together although they usually don’t. 

   Here is what a meerkat and ground squirrel look like.

 Meerkat Ground Squirrel

Next, let me talk about its interactions with humans.  It has negative and positive effects on humans.  The yellow mongoose is thought of as one of the most important rabies vectors in southern Africa.  The prevalence of rabies in the yellow mongoose is high because they are very abundant in some areas and also because they live in burrows.  By living in these borrows, it makes them very close to each other. This increases the chance of transmitting the virus.  There is a high or positive correlation between the seasonal incidence of rabies and the breeding cycle of the yellow mongoose.  This is obviously one of the negative effects on humans. About the only positive effect they have with humans is that they control the insect and rodent populations

Now, that you have learned about the yellow mongoose take a look on some interesting facts about it!