貂獴，英文名slender mongoose，学名Galerella sanguinea，是产于非洲撒哈拉以南的广阔地区稀树草原，平原，林地和沙漠的一种灵猫科，獴亚科，貂獴属的小型食肉动物，体长27.5-40厘米，尾长23-33厘米，成年雄兽重640-715克，雌兽重460-575克。貂獴独居或成对活动，虽然这中小型掠食者的大部分食物都是昆虫，偶尔也吃少量水果或捡食腐肉，但是一旦有机会它们也不会拒绝啮齿类，鸟类，鸟蛋，两栖动物，蜥蜴和蛇类；即使是一些体型较大，性情凶猛，毒性很强的毒蛇，偶尔也会遭到貂獴的攻击。下面就让我们来看看两个貂獴袭击大型毒蛇的记录。
下面这段视频中，一只貂獴攻击了一条幼年的黑曼巴，在经过一场对峙和搏杀后，让这条初出茅庐的“非洲死神”成为了自己的一顿美餐。



2010年拍摄于博茨瓦纳的另一个记录，一只貂獴猛烈攻击一条成年喙眼镜蛇（Naja annulifera,一种产于南部非洲的大型眼镜蛇科眼镜蛇属毒蛇，一般体长1.2-1.8米，最大个体长达2.5米，毒液主要成分为神经毒素，人如果被咬伤一小时内可能出现死亡），在攻击中貂獴甚至跳跃起来咬伤了蛇的颈部，而喙眼镜蛇也在原地奋力抵抗这个灵活凶悍的对手。最终由于喙眼镜蛇的体型太大，貂獴放弃了攻击，喙眼镜蛇停留了三分钟以后也离开了现场。




15 Feb 2010
Location: Zarafa Camp, Selinda Concession, Botswana
Date: 21 January 2010
Observer & Photographer: Sako Dux Motakatshipi
We took off for our morning game drive around 06h15 and everybody was looking forward to what Mother Nature was going to deliver us. We drove down south-east of Zarafa Camp along mopane road viewing some wonderful wild animals such as birds, impala and giraffe. Coming around a corner we came across an amazing natural sighting - a battle between the two enemies in nature: Snouted Cobra (Naja annulifera) and slender mongoose (Galerella sanguianea).
We stayed with the animals from the start of the fight until it ended around 10 minutes later. It was a face-to-face fight with the cobra on its tail upright approximately two metres off the ground, hood spread, hissing, mouth open to strike at any given moment. Despite the anger of the cobra the hungry mongoose was still doing his best to attack. The mongoose would leap up from the side aiming at the neck of the cobra trying to bite. It was interesting to note that the cobra had a wound around its neck resulting from the attack which was bleeding.
The cobra managed to remain strong and defended itself so well - it was ready to squirt the venom to the mongoose at any time. It was a nonstop attack from the mongoose at the snake until at one point the mongoose dashed into the thickets and never showed up again. The angry cobra stayed there for about three minutes until it calmed down and cautiously made its way in a different direction.