A ground-dwelling mongoose that uses wooded areas near water.
It has a low, elongated body and short legs. Its long bushy tail ends in black, and the coat is mainly gray with brown speckling.
Researchers studied material from 507 Egyptian mongooses collected through hunting management in seven of the nine mainland Portuguese provinces where the species occurs, from 2008 to 2014. In females, ovarian mass indicated reproductive activity from December to June. Twenty pregnant females were found between December and July; eight were recorded in April and five in March. The 20 litters averaged 2.75 fetuses. Ten lactating females were recorded from March to August, most in July.
Male testis mass peaked in February and then remained fairly steady for the rest of the year. The sample included 269 females and 238 males from areas north and south of the Tagus River. Seasonal changes in reproductive organs differed between females and males.
IUCN Red List · Least Concern (LC) · Global
The IUCN global assessment published in 2016 classified the Egyptian Mongoose as Least Concern (LC), based on an assessment dated 27 February 2016. It described the species as widespread, locally common, and present in many protected areas, with a stable global population trend. The assessment found no major threats across the range, while noting localized poisoning on the Iberian Peninsula and hunting or trapping in Portugal.