Mongoose Facts

I am sure you know that Mongoose is the animal that keeps snakes away; yes Rikki-Tikki-Tavi who saves the whole family from the cobra. No, there are many more interesting facts about this carnivorous mammal. These are found abundantly in South Asia and Africa. These mammals are terrestrial and are active hunters which feed on eggs and other smaller animals like frogs, insects and worms. Some of them do supplement their diet with fruits and nuts. In India, it is a common animal; most of the snake charmers also have a mongoose since they can be easily domesticated and can be taught the simple tricks.

Interesting Facts about Mongoose

• Mongooses are weasel like animals, which have long bodies and faces, combined with small rounded ears. They have short legs and long tapering tails. Most of the times they have a gray or brown streak or a pattern in gray or brown. These animals have claws that cannot be drawn back that they are non-retractile.
• Some species of the mongoose class are nocturnal while others come out in the light of day. One of the species known as yellow mongoose belong to the latter group and live a community life unlike the Egyptian mongoose, which lives a solitary life.
• Mongooses live in crevices of rocks and burrows. The interesting thing is that seldom do they dig these holes themselves, most of the time they just move into burrows that have been left by other animals.
• Scent plays a very important role in case of demarcating the territories of various species and they also use it to mark the reproductive status. They have a large anal scent gland for the same purpose.
• Apart from the scent they also make a high-pitched noise, which is termed as "giggling" as a sign of mating. Giggling is a form courtship when the animal is choosing a partner.
• Mongoose is a very fast animal and in a conflict with a snake, it can dodge the snake and save itself from the strikes of the snake easily. It uses several tricks and then ultimately when the snake is tired it attacks the snake and catches it by the back of its neck. It breaks the snake’s spine and eats the head and the fangs of the snake.
• Mongoose has a great tolerance towards the venom of the snake apart from its swiftness and valor though there have been times when the mongoose has passed off by eating the head of the snake it had just killed. It happens so that when the mongoose eats the head and the fangs, the latter pierce through the walls of the blood vessels the body of the mongoose and the venom leaks into the bloodstream leading to the death of the animal.
• Some species of mongooses use various defense mechanisms to save themselves from the bigger carnivores like one of them acts as the guard who keeps a watch on the surroundings and makes aloud noise that works like an alarm call for others to understand that there is danger around. Once the other mongooses hear this alarm call they rush to the nearest hole as soon as they can.