The Cape Grey M o n g o o se ,
Herpestes pufveru/entus
C D Lynch The Cape g r e y m o n g o o s e ( K a a p s e
grysmuishond), is a solitary, d iurn a l viverrid (carnivore) of approximately 1 0 0 0 g. Six subspecies (forms) have been recognized These are: a reddish coloured fo rm w ith a black tailtip (shortridge/j w h ic h is fo u n d in northern South West Africa; tw o nearly black form s (nigratus and annulatus) also distributed in northern South W est Africa; a grizzled brown to grey form , (ruddi) w h ic h occurs in Namaqualand; the typical grizzled grey fo rm (p u lv e ru le n tu s), hence the vernacular name grey mongoose, distributed in the south-western, eastern, and n o r th eastern Cape province, and the Orange Free State; and a lighter coloured grey form (basuticus)from Lesotho and s o u th -w e s te rn
Natal.
However, current research on the grey mongoose shows that of the six subspecies only three form s are valid, nam ely ruddi.
p u lv e ru le n tu s and b a s u tic u s and that each
of these fo rm s is not distinct but overlap in colour and d istrib ution . The remaining forms, n igratus, a n n u la tu s, and shortridgei appear to belong to a different species, the slender mongooses (Herpestes sanguineus) w hich as a group are w idely distributed over large parts of Africa, from south of the Sahara to the Cape Province.
The significance of these fin d ing s is that the Cape grey mongoose is not distributed as widely as w as previously suggested (i.e. southern A frica south of the 1 7 °S latitude); but is confined to the southern parts of s o u t h e r n A f r i c a (i .e. S o u t h A f r i c a approxim nately south of the 28 °S latitude). Consequently the grey mongoose is possibly the only carnivore in the southern A frican Subregion w ith such a restricted southern
r 3 nge. ©
G rey m ongoose G rysm uishond
D is trib u tio n o f the Cape grey m o ngo ose (Herpestes pulverulentus); o n ly ruddi,
pulverulentus and basuticus are recognized.
