UseofanactivebadgersenbyEgyptianmongooses,
Herpestesichneumon,inSouthwestSpain
ByF.PALOMARES
EstaciónBiolOgicadeDoñana, Scull/a,Spain
Badgers(Metesmetes)usedensdugbythemselvesforrestandprotection(KRuux1978; NEAL1986).Badgers’ settsareoftenusedasarefugebyothermammals,includingseveral carnivores (NEAL1986).Someofthecarnivores usedeserted seas (seeNEAL1986,fora
review).Smallcarnivoresalsouseactiveseas,although onlycasually,whilstfoxes(Vuipes vulpes)usethemmoreregularlyandevenforbreedingin.HereIreport forthefirsttime deserted badger setts being used by Egyptian mongooses (Herpestes icl.rneumon) and describeindetailtheregularuseofanactivesettbyseveralradio-trackedmonguoses in DoflanaNational Park,SWSpain,fromSeptember1987toMarch1989.
Mongooses in this area are typically diurnal and usually use burrowsat various
locationstorestinatnightandforrestingperiodsofseveralhoursduringtheday(DELIBE5 and BELTRAN 1985; PALOMARES1986). During the two years of study at least nine mongooseshaveusedbadgersettsasarestingareaandovernightrefuge.Insomesituations thedensity ofthevegetation madeitdifficu/ttoestablishthetypeof burrowused.Four deserted badger seas which displayed two to fiveentrance holes were used by seven mongooses(3malesand4females).One activesettwasusedby4malesand4femalesas follows(betweentheparenthesesthetrackingdaynumberisshown):males:HMI,atleast
3 times(117);HM2, 2times(205);HM3, 1time(24);HM7,26times(53);females:HH4,
2times(38);HH6,1time(163);HH1O, 30times(154);HH12, 19times(103).Three individuals,HH1O,HH12andHM7werealsolocatedinthesetsduringthedaytime,both restingandactive.Ofthemongoosescaptured whosehomerangeincluded thesea,only onewasneverrecorded insideit.
Theabovementioned badgersets,inthebankofasmallstream,is dugoutofearthand
coversanareaofapproximately 400m2.Elevenentrancesarevisible,although thereappear to bemore between thevegetation belowwhich thesettisfound.Of these iionly 6 showed signs of usein March 1989. From earlier visits, no importantchanges in the entrancesinactiveusewereobserved.Throughoutthestudy thesettwasindailyuseby badgersasconfirmed bytheirtracks,anditcanbeconsideredtheprincipalsettofabadger clan(KRUUK1978).Usually the mongooses used3entrances for arrivalanddeparture, whilstthebadgersusedonly2;oneofthembeingutilisedbybothspecies.Therestingsite oftwoofthemarkedmongooses,HH1OandHM7,was locatedveryclosetotheentrances mostfrequently usedbythebadgers.Different behaviourisusuallyobservedwithfoxes, sincetheytendtousethepartsofthesea thebadgersdonot(NEAL1986).WIJNGAARDEN and PEPPEL(1964)havespeculated that the useof badgerseas byfoxesisdue to the absenceofoptimalrefugesites.Formongooses, whichfrequently usetheabundant rabbit warrensofDoñana, thisisnotthecase.
In the study area, badgers and mongooses display different activity patterns. The
U.S.CopyrightClearanceCenterCodeStatement:0044-3468/91/5602-0119$02.50/0
F.Palamares
mongoose isdiurnal (DELIBESandBELTRAN1985;PAL0MARE51986),thebadgernoctur
nal.Despitethisdifference,bothspeciesoverlapundergroundforfourtotenhoursaday.
The appreciable size difference between the two speciesin Donana (approximately
7—9kgfor badgerscompared to3kgfor mongooses) makessuchgreatmutual tolerance unexpected, sinceconfrontationsareknowntobefrequent betweenothercarnivores(e.g. ROGERSandMaCH1981).However,badgers,whichareveryaggressiveamongthemselves (KRUUK1978),generallyshowlittleinterspecificaggression(NEAL1986).Moreover, there appearstobenodisadvantageforthemongoose,inspiteofthefactthatthetwospecies haveacertainsimilarity ofdietandtherefore possibly compete forresourcesinthearea (MARTIN-FRANQUELOandDELIJSES 1985;PALOMARE5 1986).
IamgratefultoDr.M.DELrsEsforreviewandvaluablecommentsonthemanuscript, and to N.
BUSTAMANTE,forreviewingtheEnglish.
Theresearchwassupported byDGICYT(project PB87-0405).
References
DELIBE5,M.;BELTRAN,J.F.(1985):Activity, dailymovements andhomerangeofaIchneumon or Egyptian mongoose(Herpestesichneumon)insouthern Spain.J.Zool.,London207,610—613. KRUuK,H.(1978):SpatialorganizationandterritorialbehaviouroftheEuropeanBadgerMelesmeles.
J.Zool., London184,1—19.
MARTIN-FRANQUELO, R.; DaLsaRs, M. (1985):Ecologyofthe badger in Dnnana, Mediterranean
Spain.IVIntern. Ther.Congress. Edmonton.August1985.
NEAL,E.(1986):Thenaturalhistoryof badger.London,Sidney:GroomHelm.1—238.
PALOMARa5,F.(1986):EcologiadeIaginetayelmeloncilloenelParqueNacionaldeDoBana.Tesina
deLicenciatura. Fac.deCieneias.Univ.deGranada.
ROGERS,L.L.;MEets,L.D.(1981):InteractionofwolvesandblackbearsinNortheasternMinnesota.
J.Mammalogy62,434-436.
WIJNGAARDaN,A.VAN; PEPPELM J.VAN DC(1964):The badger(Melesmeles)inthe Netherlands.
Lutra6,1—60.
Author’saddress:Fau’rnascoPALousitEs, Estación Biologica de Doliana (CSIC), Apdo. 1056, E-41080SeWlla,Spain