The foraging patterns, diet, habitat selection, activity cycles, population dynamics and territorial behaviour of seven free ranging banded mongoose packs in 30,8 km2 of the northern Transvaal (South Africa) were studied and related to intra- and interspecific interactions and climatic factors. It is shown that the population density of the study population (4,0-4,5 mongooses km- 2), their foraging success (0,4-2,3 items min- 1), home range size (1,5-4,0 km 2 ), travelling distance (1,0-7,4 km day-I), pack size (9-47 individuals), mortality rate (87 per cent for juveniles), litter size (2,8 cubs/female), social structure, reproductive patterns, activity cycles, territorial behaviour, foraging behaviour and habitat selection differed markedly from populations in Uganda (Rood 1975), and that these differences were mainly associated with the colder climate and lower food availability in the study area. It was established that banded mongooses foraged in groups of 6-47 individuals, that pack size was statistically related to home range size, travelling distances and mortality rates, and influenced by habitat, food availability and the presence of cubs. Large packs maintained larger home ranges, travelled greater distances, had a 15 per cent lower adult mortality rate, and a 46 per cent higher juvenile mortality rate than small packs. Following winding, irregular hunting routes (influenced by wind direction, food and shelter availability, environmental temperatures, the presence of cubs and proximity to territorial borders), foraging packs located their predominantly invertebrate prey mainly by olfaction and digging. Direct competition with other small carnivores for food was largely eliminated by banded mongooses utilizing small, abundant, slow-moving, fossorial or semi-fossorial arthropods, many of which were apparently unpalatable to other carnivores. Intraspecific competition was reduced by the nature of foraging formations and the development of feeding prerogatives for cubs and lactating females. Environmental temperatures had a major impact on activity cycles, social behaviour, foraging patterns and habitat selection - suitable thermal microhabitats were often selected in preference to microhabitats offering a higher food availability or better shelter against predators. Metabolic rate determinations on tame mongooses (heart rate/oxygen consumption for different activities and temperatures) showed that banded mongooses had a basal metabolic rate of 3,1-3,5 kcal kg-I hr-I (13,0-14,6 kJ kg-I hr-1) in a narrow thermoneutral zone of 30,7-33,4°c, and that their resting metabolism increased at a rate of 15,9 per cent for every 1°c at temperatures below 30,7°c. The energy expenditure of an adult banded mongoose (extrapolated from laboratory data applied to the activity budget of a free ranging pack) was calculated to be 175,5 kcal (734 kJ) kg-I 24 hr-I in summer and 180,3 kcal (754 kJ) kg-I 24 hr-I in winter. The vital role of behavioural thermoregulation as an energy conservation measure is discussed, and foraging strategies and habitat selection are reviewed in terms of optimal foraging theory (e.g. Pyke, Pulliam and Charnov 1977). It is concluded that banded mongooses are time minimizers rather than energy maximisers, and that most aspects of their foraging behaviour conform to optimal foraging theory, provided the theory is applied to the pack as a whole rather than to individuals in the pack

Dissertation (MSc (Zoology))--University of Pretoria, 1983.