young surviving, and it is often the oldest offspring of the most dominant female that will prevail. The gestation period lasts 74–106 days. Feeding habits The narrow-striped mongoose forages in top soil, ground litter and rotten wood from fallen trees. A study in the Kirindy Forest revealed that its diet consists foremost of invertebrates. It feeds on arthropods, insect larvae, gastropods. Remains of reptile eggs, bones and feathers were also found in scat collected. Air-dried scat was used to determine preferences in the diet of the narrow-striped mongoose. Evidence showed that its diet included reptile egg membrane, bones, feathers and fragments of arthropods. Invertebrates were its main source of food during the dry season of May to August and the wet season of January to March in the Kirindy Forest. The Jaccard index was used to determine which prey items and arthropods it preferred to eat during each season of the year. The results indicated that it consumes any food that was available; it was not selective towards any particular prey item. Insect larva was a main part of its diet. It forages in top soil, ground litter, and rotten wood from fallen trees, which shows how insect larvae could be considered a staple part of its diet. Gastropoda were also found as a main source of food during rainy seasons. Conservation The narrow-striped mongoose is currently classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List because it occurs in a severely fragmented area and is threatened by habitat loss due to logging and conversion to agriculturally used land. The western dry forests are both highly fragmented and under higher human pressure than the eastern rain forests. The main cause of decimation of dry deciduous forest in Madagascar is slash-and-burn agriculture by subsistence farmers, but other causes include logging for wild honey and lumber. References External links Endemic fauna of Madagascar Euplerids Madagascar succulent woodlands Madagascar spiny thickets Mammals of Madagascar Carnivorans of Africa Mammals described in 1867