Mongoose

The mongoose, Herpestes mongoose, is a predatory species of the mongoose family, and defines the characteristic of the animal we know of as a mongoose and the name derives a Greek word, meaning “a tracker”.

The Mongoose family reach a head to tail body length of around 50 to 65 centimetres and weigh in at an average of 1.7 to 4 kilograms. The body is slender and elongated, relatively short limbs and the tail is bushy. They are long-haired with gray fur with brown spots and are generally have a more discreet appearance. The face is pointed, and the eyes are surrounded by markings.

Distribution and habitat
Mongoose are spread over large parts of Africa and absent only in arid deserts and dense rainforests. Their preferred habitat is the savanna and they occur in Asia Minor and Palestine as part of their natural habitat range.

This is the only Mangustenart that also lives in Southern Europe, Spain and Portugal and there is debate regarding whether they were indigenous to the area and of natural origin or were introduced by humans in antiquity and more recently they are introduced into Italy and Madagascar.

Lifestyle
The animal searches for food during the day and they eat mostly insects, rodents, birds and reptiles. They are known to attack venomous snakes and the mongoose is lightning fast and can be incredibly quick at grab and overwhelming a snake much larger than itself.

They also love to eat eggs which are opened by striking against rocks which they do so by holding them with their back feet and swinging the egg toward a rock in order to crack the shell.

About their social behaviour, there are different reports as they are observed as both solitary animals and they are seen in pairs.

Reproduction

After 60 – to 84-day gestation, the female gives birth to two to four young. They are suckled for four to eight weeks and independently with six to twelve months. Life expectancy in human care can be more than 20 years.

Mongoose and humans
In ancient Egypt, the mongoose was revered as a sacred animal and notes found from the French expedition to Egypt describe the “Rat Pharaons” “Pharaonenratte” and further evidence is found in numerous frescoes and relief’s, especially from the Ptolemaic period and older generation of the Egyptian empire.

The popularity of the mongoose in Africa is like that of the mongoose in India along with his reputation as a snake fighter. Aristotle described the Snake fights, and Herodotus described that mongoose would be embalmed and buried in sacred places. Pliny the Elder reports on an Egyptian folk belief that the mongoose had a habit of jumping into sleeping crocodiles mouths running into the body and tearing out their hearts to kill the crocodile which of course has no truth to the story but it contributed to the popularity of the mongoose.