It lives in savannas, open forests and grasslands and feeds primarily on beetles and millipedes.

[2][3] Viverra mungo was the scientific name proposed by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788 for a mongoose that was described earlier by several other naturalists.

The banded mongoose lives in savannas, open forests and grassland, especially near water, but also in dry, thorny bushland but not deserts.

Mongooses prefer multi-entranced termitaria with open thicket, averaging 4 m from the nearest shelter, located in semi-closed woodland.

When no refuge is available and hard-pressed by predators such as African wild dogs, the group will form a compact arrangement in which they lie on each other with heads facing outwards and upwards.

[14] Relations between groups are highly aggressive and mongooses are sometimes killed and injured during intergroup encounters.

Nevertheless, breeding females will often mate with males from a rival groups during fights (extra-group copulations).

[16] Banded mongooses feed primarily on insects, myriapods, small reptiles, and birds.

Millipedes and beetles make up most of their diet,[5] but they also commonly eat ants, crickets, termites, grasshoppers, caterpillars, earwigs and snails.

[17] Banded mongoose forage in groups, but each member searches for food alone;[17] however they work as a team when dealing with venomous snakes such as cobras.

[22] These helpers are generally young nonbreeding males or breeding females who have contributed to the current litter; they help to minimize competition over food allocation among pups.

[25] Few studies have found evidence of regular incest avoidance in mammals, but banded mongooses are an exception.

[27] Inbreeding depression is largely caused by the homozygous expression of deleterious recessive alleles.

[27] Banded mongooses have been observed removing ticks, fleas, and other parasites from warthogs in Kenya[29] and Uganda.