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on their hind legs to view their surroundings. Normal litter size is
2–4 young, born after a gestation of 75 days. In some parts of this
mongoose’s range, the pups are born during spring.
Distribution and Status In North Africa this species occurs widely
in Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia, then there is an apparent
range break until north-eastern Libya, across the Mediterranean
coast of Egypt including the Nile Delta. It then extends widely down
the floodplain of the Nile and beyond, where it has a wide sub-
Saharan distribution. In the Middle East it is largely restricted to the
Mediterranean coastal plain of Palestine and Israel, Lebanon, northern
Iraq and south-east Turkey. It does not occur in Iran.
Conservation Areas Simak Cudi Mountain, Sendinli-Rubaruh (Turkey).
Probably occurs in a number through its regional range.
WHITE-TAILED MONGOOSE Ichneumia albicauda
Identification This is a large mongoose that stands high on the
legs with rump higher than the shoulders and the head carried low.
The coarse, shaggy coat is brown-grey to almost black on the legs.
The bushy white tail is distinctive and makes up about a third of the
animal’s total length.
Size Shoulder height 25 cm.
Weight 3.5–5.2 kg.
Habitat and Behaviour These mongooses are found in open
woodland, river courses (wadis) that are commonly associated with
hill country and coastlines in the vicinity of estuaries. They do not
live in true desert areas. In the UAE they are strongly tied to wadis