Galerella pulverulenta
Silhouette: Margot Michaud · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The Cape grey mongoose (Herpestes pulverulentus), also called the small grey mongoose, is a small mammal native to South Africa, Lesotho and southern Namibia. It is a small species (55–69 cm long, weight range 0.5 – 1.0 kg). It is a dark grey colour with a darker tip of the tail. The legs are a darker grey than the rest of the body. It has a typical elongated mongoose body-shape. The ears are small and rounded and are situated on the sides of the head. The tail is long and bushy. The teeth show adaptations for both cutting and crushing.
The Cape grey mongoose feeds mostly on insects and small rodents, but will also eat birds, small reptiles, amphibians, other invertebrates, and fruit. They have been known to eat carrion and garbage as well. It is predominantly insectivorous but also carnivorous. Insects and other arthropoda such as spiders are caught on the ground and then held down with the forefeet and eaten. Larger prey such as rodents are stalked and killed with a bite to the head. Large prey items are held down with the forefeet and then torn into bite size pieces with the teeth.
Small rodents, in particular Otomys and Rhabdomys, are their... Wikipedia →
Recording0:35
South Africa · 2018
© Marion Maclean · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Gray Mongoose sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 141 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 12th most-seen of the 39 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Gray Mongoose in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against about 10% in July–August and October–May, the lowest months. Those are among Table Mountain National Park's wettest months, with about 80 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in February.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape Gray Mongoose sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Cape Gray Mongoose sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in West Coast National Park (South Africa, about 30%), De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 20%) and Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Gray Mongoose is recorded against all the mammals logged in Table Mountain National Park (141 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.
