Large prey items are held down with the forefeet and then torn into bite size pieces with the teeth.

On occasion, immature hares or the young of small antelopes such as Cape grysbok may be attacked.

[2] Until a few decades ago, the species was thought to be endemic to the Cape Province, but it is now known to occur in much of the rest of South Africa and in the west, northwards to southern Angola.

[2] It inhabits macchia-type vegetation (fynbos), semi-desert scrub (Karoo), thicket and forest.

They are poor diggers so they utilize piles of rocks, crevices, deserted burrows and hollows in tree trunks for shelter when there is not sufficient bush cover.

Litters of 1 – 3 young are born from August to December and are hidden in burrows, rock crevices or tree hollows.