Perez's study of genes within the family Herpestidae showed the genus Bdeogale is monophyletic.

Close cousins of this clade include the genera Ichneumia and Cynictis.

[2] The bushy-tailed mongoose inhabits foremost open shrubland and multilayered forest.

[4] In northern Tanzania, the bushy-tailed mongoose was recorded in more than 31 camera trap locations in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Biharamulo-Burigi-Kimisi Game Reserve and Mahale Mountains National Park, mostly in Acacia woodlands and riparian zones.

It is negatively impacted by habitat degradation and fragmentation, prey depletion and land use dynamics caused by cattle grazing.