大象传媒

Banded mongooses breed regularly, and with a pregnancy of just two months, an individual breeding female can have up to five litters a year. So that鈥檚 a potential 15 pups each, annually. In a world where the biggest gangs are the strongest, breeding regularly is a wise strategy. The males in the group compete for females, and a female in season will be followed continuously by one of the boys. This is known as mate-guarding, and the male will stick religiously to his chosen mate, not letting the other boys get a look in for the few days while the female is at her most receptive. Mate guarding is a job that takes experience, so it's often the older males which do this more effectively. One middle ranking male fancies his chances with a female, and has finally cornered her in the bushes, but she's not impressed and makes high pitched calls which attract other males from her group. This young pretender needs to have eyes in the back of his head, if he is continue to mate-guard as well as fight off potential rivals. He's torn between fighting off his rivals and mating the female. On this occasion, the female makes her getaway without mating, but once she's decided she's ready, she won't be so coy.