A wildlife enthusiast captured rare video of a baboon attempting to get to a baby mongoose by tossing other mongooses out of the way by their tails, but it soon discovered the ploy was futile.
That’s because the family of mongooses acted as one, putting up a protective barrier that effectively shielded the baby.
The “once-in-a-lifetime” sighting by Charmaine Kritzinger occurred in Marloth Park in South Africa.
Kritzinger, 57, shared the story with LatestSightings.com, saying it started with the sighting of a baboon running by, carrying a dead mongoose. A second baboon was attempting to catch a mongoose for dinner, too.
“He began by first assessing them and identifying one mongoose that he was going to go for,” she explained. “However, it was clear that these mongooses were not going to give up without a fight; they were a family.
“The baboon kept trying to get to the middle of the troop; at first, I could not see why. Then I saw it: A baby mongoose was being protected by its parents and family. That is what the baboon was after.
“The group of mongooses formed a protective barrier. They turned themselves into one large body almost interlocking themselves together. They moved as one unit; it was actually very intimidating and you could see the determination in their eyes. They were guarding the baby with their lives!”
The baboon attempted to get at the baby by tossing the others away by grabbing their tails, but the mongooses were too fast and regrouped quickly before it could grab another.
“This continued for some time as the baboon kept grabbing the mongoose and flinging them in the air, in the hope that he would get a chance to grab the baby,” she said.
Eventually, the baboon learned that its plan was futile, as the protective instincts of the mongooses were just too much, and it ran off.