The short-tailed mongoose occurs on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. It searches the forest floor for prey by day and is generally solitary.
It has a slender body, short legs, a relatively small head, and a pointed snout. Its fur is blackish to dark brown, with paler brown on the throat and chin.
In the lowland forest studied at Krau on Peninsular Malaysia, males use larger ranges overlapping several females, while the ranges of females overlap little.
During 2005–2007, researchers radio-tracked five adults in Krau Wildlife Reserve. Areas enclosing 95% of locations averaged 233 hectares for three males and 132 for two females; female overlap averaged 3.7%.
Straight-line distances between locations 24 hours apart averaged 842 metres for males and 468 for females. Actual winding journeys were longer. Comparisons of locations at the same time on successive days showed larger displacements by males in this forest.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
In the 2005–2007 Krau study, one male had snare remains embedded in a foreleg; researchers removed them and treated the wound. This documents an injury inside the reserve. Retaining lowland forest and reducing snares are conservation priorities.