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Bdeogale omnivora

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA MAMMALIA CARNIVORA HERPESTIDAE

Scientific Name: Bdeogale omnivora
Species Authority: Heller, 1913
Common Name/s:
English – Sokoke Bushy-tailed Mongoose
Taxonomic Notes: Treated as a subspecies of B. crassicauda by several authors (Sale and Taylor 1970; Wozencraft 1993, 2005), but here treated as distinct following Taylor (in press).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Vulnerable A2c ver 3.1
Year Published: 2008
Assessor/s: Hoffmann, M.
Reviewer/s: Duckworth, J.W. (Small Carnivore Red List Authority) and Hoffmann, M. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)
Contributor/s:
Justification:
Listed as Vulnerable as the species is believed to have undergone a decline of more than 30% over the past 15 years (assuming a generation length of 5 years) due to the impacts of extensive and ongoing habitat loss in the coastal forests of eastern Africa.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: Restricted to the coastal forests of Kenya and Tanzania. In Kenya, the majority of confirmed records are from Gedi, south of Malindi in Kenya, but other specimens have been collected in Diani Beach, Shimba Hills N.R., Tiwi, Kwale, Mazeras, and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest; reports of this species from coastal parts of northern Kenya have been reported, including close to the Somali border (Taylor in press). In Tanzania, there are records from the East and West Usambaras, and another unsubstantiated record from the Ulugurus, but these require confirmation since they could very well be the result of confusion with Bushy-tailed Mongoose B. crassicauda (Taylor in press).
Countries:
Native:
Kenya; Tanzania, United Republic of
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population: This mongoose is only locally common, but likely declining.
Population Trend: Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: Found predominantly through forested habitats on the coast. Has been observed foraging on roads at night after insects, when individuals may sometimes be injured or killed by vehicles (Taylor in press).
Systems: Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): The population in the Arubuko-Sokoke Forest is under threat from habitat loss due to illegal logging and the Shimba Hills population is potentially under threat from afforestation with non-native pine species together with management for Sable Antelope Hippotragus niger (Schreiber et al. 1989, Engel and Van Rompaey 1995).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: Recorded from several protected areas, including the Shimba Hills N.R. and Arubuko-Sokoke Forest. If records from the Usambaras in Tanzania belong to this species, then it probably also occurs in several nature reserves, such as Amani N.R. There is a clear need for improved protection of these reserves. Further survey work is needed to confirm the species identification of records of this species from the Usambaras.
Citation: Hoffmann, M. 2008. Bdeogale omnivora. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2013.
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