Urban areas provide small carnivores with an abundance of resources and reduced predation risk, resulting in higher population densities. Urban animals tend to have greatly reduced home range sizes in response to increased resource availability. We investigated the home range size of yellow mongooses Cynictis penicillata in an urban area and determined whether their home ranges overlapped with human residential areas. We studied the home range sizes of 8 collared and GPS tracked individuals in the Meyersdal Nature Area in South Africa; an area divided into two residential wildlife estates (4 individuals per estate): an Eco-Estate that was a built up residential area interspersed with natural areas; and a Nature Estate with reduced contact between animals and human residential areas. We used three methods to calculate home range size, namely Minimum Convex Polygon, Kernel Density Estimates and Local Convex Hull. Home range size was slightly larger in the Nature Estate, and male home ranges were larger than those of females. Compared to previous studies, home range sizes were considerably smaller in our study. Seasonal variation in home range could not be statistically compared, but, similar to non-urban populations, we observed smaller home range sizes during the breeding season (winter and spring) and larger sizes during the non-breeding season (autumn and summer). The overlap of home ranges with residential areas, and the record of multiple GPS fixes of tracked individuals within human residential gardens, was evident in both estates but to a greater extent in the Eco-Estate. Seasonal overlap with residential areas was greatest during autumn and winter. We showed that yellow mongooses modify their home ranges in response to urbanisation, which might be a consequence of abundant and easily accessible available resources, particularly during colder periods.

城市地区为小型食肉动物提供了丰富的资源，并减少了被捕食的风险，从而导致了更高的人口密度。为了增加资源的利用率，城市动物往往会大大减少家畜的大小。我们调查了黄色猫鼬Cynictis penicillata的家庭范围大小并确定他们的住所范围是否与人类居住区重叠。我们研究了南非Meyersdal自然区中8个有领和GPS追踪者的房屋范围大小；一个分为两个野生动植物栖息地的区域（每个庄园有4个人）：一个生态庄园，是一个由居民区组成的居住区，自然区域穿插其中；以及减少动物与人类居住区之间接触的自然庄园。我们使用三种方法来计算起始范围的大小，即最小凸多边形，内核密度估计和局部凸包。自然庄园的房屋范围稍大，男性的房屋范围大于女性。与以前的研究相比，在我们的研究中家庭范围的大小要小得多。无法统计比较家庭范围的季节性变化，但是，与非城市人口相似，我们观察到在繁殖季节（冬季和春季）的家庭范围较小，而在非繁殖季节（秋季和夏季）的家庭范围较大。家庭范围与居民区的重叠，以及人类居住花园中被追踪人员的多次GPS定位记录，在这两个屋苑中都很明显，但在生态州更为明显。在秋季和冬季，与居民区的季节性重叠最大。我们表明，黄色猫鼬会响应城市化而改变其居住范围，这可能是由于可用资源丰富且易于获取的结果，尤其是在寒冷时期。我们在繁殖季节（冬季和春季）观察到较小的家庭范围，在非繁殖季节（秋季和夏季）观察到较大的范围。家庭范围与居民区的重叠，以及人类居住花园中被追踪人员的多次GPS定位记录，在这两个屋苑中都很明显，但在生态州更为明显。在秋季和冬季，与居民区的季节性重叠最大。我们发现，黄色猫鼬会响应城市化而改变其居住范围，这可能是由于可用资源丰富且易于获取的结果，尤其是在寒冷时期。我们在繁殖季节（冬季和春季）观察到较小的家庭范围，在非繁殖季节（秋季和夏季）观察到较大的范围。家庭范围与居民区的重叠，以及人类居住花园中被追踪人员的多次GPS定位记录，在这两个屋苑中都很明显，但在生态州更为明显。在秋季和冬季，与居民区的季节性重叠最大。我们表明，黄色猫鼬会响应城市化而改变其居住范围，这可能是由于可用资源丰富且易于获取的结果，尤其是在寒冷时期。并在人类居住花园中记录了多个跟踪个人的GPS定位记录，这在两个庄园中都很明显，但在生态庄园中更为明显。在秋季和冬季，与居民区的季节性重叠最大。我们表明，黄色猫鼬会响应城市化而改变其居住范围，这可能是由于可用资源丰富且易于获取的结果，尤其是在寒冷时期。并在人类居住花园中记录了多个跟踪个人的GPS定位记录，这在两个庄园中都很明显，但在生态庄园中更为明显。在秋季和冬季，与居民区的季节性重叠最大。我们表明，黄色猫鼬会响应城市化而改变其居住范围，这可能是由于可用资源丰富且易于获取的结果，尤其是在寒冷时期。