Strictly diurnal, they live in groups that can reach 40 members. Based on scientific studies, it appears that this is a matriarchal system in which a few females reproduce. The hierarchy among individuals in the group appears to be based more on the age, size, and temperament of the individuals than on sex. The groups are stable, although young males usually leave the group and it can even divide when the number of its members is very high.

The births of the females are synchronized so that they all give birth at the same time, each of them being able to breastfeed any offspring.

They usually go out to hunt alone with their nose pressed to the ground in search of insects and small vertebrates, although they have also been seen carrying out group hunts when the prey is larger, as is the case with snakes. Once they detect prey under the ground, they prepare to quickly dig to capture it. They have a curious technique for opening eggs or prey with hard shells that consists of throwing them against the ground or against stones with their hind legs.