Squiggle the Slender Mongoose

squiggle slender mangoose

Published : 31 Mar, 2014

Squiggle the Slender Mongoose

The Turgwe Hippo Trust is not just about the hippos. The Trust has many other wild animals living around us such as elephants, lions, hyenas and many antelopes and smaller mammals.
Squiggle, the slender mongoose, was found by myself and Jean-Roger lying under a tree with her umbilical chord still attached, she was about one week to ten days of age. One of her eyes was still closed.

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We brought her home as she had not a chance of survival but I did leave a trail camera there to see if her mother came back. The mother never returned but that night two lions walked right by the camera next to the tree where we had found her.

 

We named her Squiggle as she was always screaming and wiggling and now one year later she is very much a part of the family. Our idea is to allow her her freedom but very gradually, by slowly letting her get accustomed to being free. At this moment she has the run of the entire house and lives happily with our four cats who share the house with her. She is very much loved by both of us.

We are going to build a wired cage extended onto our bathroom in order to get her used to being outside. Then later we will put an exit hole into the wire so that she can leave and explore the bush around us, but be able to come back into the cage and the house is she wants to.

Squiggle six months old

Squiggle-nine-months-oldSquiggle_11_months_old

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15 Comments

  1. V.Cumming

    I see it is a long time ago but we have just rescued a little banded mongoose from been trapped under wooden flooring with it’s head jammed tightly between the wood and wall that she would never have gotten out and surely died. We waited patiently for mom and the group to come back for hours with her calling for them, but to no avail. Can you remember what you fed Squiggle as I need to make sure she survives and get the chance again at freedom.

    Reply
  2. Penny

    Squiggle is adorable So lucky you found her

    Reply
    • karen paolillo

      Hi Penny she is really adorable I must say she has won both of our hearts, she is such an amazing animal. She purrs like a cat and kneeds like a cat, yet she carries things like a dog. Has also completely her own character on top of all of that. Too beautiful. Love Karen and the hippos

      Reply
  3. Lona

    Great job of raising little Squiggle. She looks very healthy and happy and probably thinks she’s a cat ;-).

    Reply
    • karen paolillo

      Lona I think she thinks she is all powerful as she jumps at the door at the baboons and commands attention from us both, the cats are under her spell as well. x Karen and the hippos

      Reply
  4. pym

    hahahhha. the photo of baby squiggles in blanket & two cats. the cat on the left is certainly giving her the stink eye.
    she’s a beautiful little creature

    Reply
    • karen paolillo

      Carol I think I am going to have a huge case of the “empty nest syndrom” when the day comes but I will try and be brave. Love Karen and the hippos

      Reply
    • karen paolillo

      Hi Pym the cat on her left is Gama who turn twenty years old this year and on the right is Moxie who is 15. Gama is Squiggle’s best friend as they cuddle up a lot together but all four cats in the house accept her as part of the family. At first we were afraid they would look at her as prey, but for sure they see her now as a predator, she has a fierce nip. x Karen and the hippos

      Reply
    • karen paolillo

      Pym all four cats accept Squiggle our two old cats who live in the cottage have not met her but I am sure would adjust as well.

      Reply
  5. Carol Smith

    So wonderful to see Squiggle again, and so relaxed with the cats, what a family! I wish her well as she learns the ropes about the big outdoors. It will be fascinating to watch how she decides about her future x

    Reply
    • karen paolillo

      Hi Carol we are just in the process of building the outside cage for her which will be linked to the bathroom in the house. That way she can come and go outside but be protected from the baboons that live with us and be able to lie in the sun. She is just like me she hates the cold. Once she has learnt about the outside from the cage then the next step will be a small hole for her to leave the cage for the bush but be able to get back in. Will be a very hard day for us the day we open it but she will tell us I believe when she is ready. x Karen and the animals.

      Reply
  6. Steve Gordon

    Lovely little one. Very lucky you two were the ones who found her.

    Reply
    • karen paolillo

      Steve she is our little miss Diva and rules the roost Steve, you and Margaret should come back here and meet her, you would love her. x Karen and the hippos

      Reply
  7. Marie Christine

    Je suis très contente d’avoir des news de Squiggle.
    Vivement une prochaine vidéo ! Bises à vous deux

    Reply
    • karen paolillo

      Bonsoir Marie-Christine super d’avoir de tes nouvelles. J’espere qu’un jour tu reviendras ici. Grosses bises Karen et les hippos

      Reply

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