Ichneumia albicauda
Silhouette: Margot Michaud · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The white-tailed mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda) is a species in the mongoose family Herpestidae. It is the only member of the genus Ichneumia. Herpestes albicaudus was the scientific name proposed by Georges Cuvier in 1829 for a mongoose specimen with a white tail from Senegal. The genus name Ichneumia was coined by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1837.
The white-tailed mongoose attains a weight range of 1.8 to 5.2 kg (4.0 to 11.5 lb), with an average of approximately 3.38 kg (7.5 lb), has a head-and-body length of 53 to 71 cm (21 to 28 in) and a tail length of 40 to 47 cm (16 to 19 in). On average it appears to be the longest and heaviest extant species of mongoose, although its linear and body mass parameters broadly overlap with other larger mongoose species, in particular, the marsh mongoose seems to most closely rival (and possibly match) in range of body masses reported if not average weight. Its legs are relatively long for a mongoose. The head is long and narrow. Its large, rounded ears are set low on the sides of the head. It has a yellow to tan coloration on its body, with long black guard hairs, giving it an overall grizzled grey appearance... Wikipedia →
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South Sudan · 2026
© Inge van den Meiracker · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Congo - Kinshasa · 2017
© Mathias D'haen · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Kenya · 2025
© Simon Musila · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 2 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 3 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-tailed Mongoose sighting in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 37th most-seen of the 40 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-tailed Mongoose in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in January, March, May–August and October–November, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-tailed Mongoose sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
5th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate White-tailed Mongoose sightings, Masai Mara National Reserve ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in South Luangwa National Park (Zambia, about 30%), Liwonde National Park (Malawi, about 30%) and Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda, about 20%).
Same family: Herpestidae
The closest relatives of the White-tailed Mongoose that you can see in Masai Mara National Reserve (family Herpestidae, Mongooses) are Banded Mongoose (about 50%), Common Dwarf Mongoose (about 30%) and Slender Mongoose (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-tailed Mongoose is recorded against all the mammals logged in Masai Mara National Reserve (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
