MONGOOSES OF INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA: CHARACTERISTICS, BEHAVIOR, COBRA FIGHTS

MONGOOSES

ruddy mongoose (Urva smithii), native to hill forests in India and Sri Lanka

Mongooses are cat-size mammals that are found throughout southern Asia and Africa and are perhaps most famous for fighting cobras. They belong to the family Herpestidae, which is comprised of two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, Africa and Asia, whereas the Mungotinae comprises 11 species native to Africa.[ The Herpestidae originated about 18 to 25 million years ago in the Early Miocene and genetically diverged into two main lineages 18 to 20 million years ago.

The word mongoose is derived from the Marathi name mangus. The English name (used since 1698) was altered to its -goose ending by folk-etymology. The plural form is mongooses, or, rarely, mongeese. Some mongooses live in southern Europe, as well in Puerto Rico and some Caribbean and Hawaiian islands, where they are an introduced species. One of the the greatest threat to a mongoose's survival is the use of toxic agro-chemicals in farming areas.

Of the 34 species of mongoose, only six are considered highly social. The solitary species tend be nocturnal and carnivorous, while the social species are primarily diurnal and insectivorous. Mongooses range in size from 30 centimeters to 1.2 meters (1 to 4 feet) in length, including their tail. They range in weight from the common dwarf mongoose, at 280 grams (10 oz) to the cat-sized white-tailed mongoose, at 4.1 kilograms.

One of the largest species, the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), was considered a sacred animal in ancient Egypt. It checked the increase of crocodiles in the Nile River by eating their eggs and gained the popular name "Pharaoh's mouse". The best-known species of mongoose is the Indian grey mongoose. It is a rather small, agile, weasel-like carnivore native to Africa, southern Europe and Asia. Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was a mongoose.

Mongoose Characteristics

Mongooses look a lot like mustelids (weasels, martens, minks). They have long slender faces and bodies, small rounded ears, short legs, and long tapering tails. Their coats are thick and coarse in texture. Most are brindled or grizzly; few have strongly marked coats. They have non-retractile claws that are used primarily for digging. Mongooses, much like goats, have narrow, ovular pupils. [Source: Wikipedia]

Most mongoose species have a large anal scent gland, used for territorial marking and signaling reproductive status. Their dental formula is similar to that of viverrids. Mongooses also have receptors for acetylcholine that, like the receptors in snakes, are shaped so that it is impossible for snake neurotoxin venom to attach to them. Researchers are investigating whether similar mechanisms protect the mongoose from hemotoxic snake venoms.

In all Asian mongoose species, males have one less chromosome than females: 2n=35 in males and 2n=36 in females. Asian mongooses are considered by some to be the least modified from the ancestral miacid-type carnivores from which viverrids and herpestids are derived. The longest living mongoose in captivity lived to 12.5 years. Their average lifespan in the wild is seven years.

Mongoose Behavior and Diet

striped-neck mongoose of southern India and Sri Lanka

Mongooses are intelligent and alert animals. They often rise up suddenly on the rear legs to have a look around and use their hind legs to hurl eggs and curled up millipedes against hard surfaces to break them open. When threatened their fur stands up and the backs arches like frightened cat to create the illusion that the animal is larger than it is. They also flatten their ears and "climatically explosive spit." Mongooses produce a high-pitched noise, commonly known as giggling, when they mates. Giggling is also heard during courtship.

In contrast to the arboreal, nocturnal viverrids, mongooses are more commonly terrestrial and many are active during the day. Most mongooses live near streams, in thickets, hedges and fields. Mongooses have an anal sac used in communication. They display an adapted behavior of deposit the spray at nose height on vertical objects. Males spray only during the mating season.

Mongooses are primarily omnivores (eat a variety of things, including plants and animals). Animal foods include birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish eggs, insects and terrestrial non-insect arthropods and aquatic crustaceans. Among the plant foods they eat are roots, tubers seeds, grains, nuts and fruit. /=\

Mongooses are opportunistic carnivores that feed on rats, mice, other rodents, snakes, lizards, eggs, earthworms, grasshoppers, beetles, other insects, scorpions, centipedes, frogs, crabs, fish, chickens and carrion. Mongooses have elongated skulls with specialized teeth for hunting. The incisors form a cutting edge at the front of the mouth, the canines point and protrude allowing it to clamp onto a snake's head, and the molars have pointed cusps ideal for crushing insects. The Indian grey mongoose is renowned for killing cobras, of which it is capable because of its very quick movements and the protection of its thick hide and long, thick hair.

Indian Gray Mongooses

Indian gray mongooses (Herpestes edwardsi) are native to India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan and occupy areas of Arabia and Iran. They were introduced to the West Indies, Hawaii, Jamaica, Cuba and Puerto Rico to control poisonous snakes and rats. Indian gray mongooses live in temperate and tropical habitats in areas of thickets, open plains, grasslands, cultivated fields or where there is broken, bushy vegetation. They sleep in holes in the ground or hollow trees. [Source: Ellen Graham, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Indian gray mongooses and not endangered and are regarded as pests in some of the places they have been introduced. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies them as a species of “Least Concern”. Humans utilize them for the pet trade, research to help control pests. They have even been domesticated to control rats, mice and snakes in and around houses.

When not hunting and poraging, Indian gray mongooses retreat to their burrows, crevices in rocks, or nearby rivers to escape the heat and obtain protection from their largest predator, leopards. As predators of rodents, ground birds, reptiles, small mammals, and insects they likely play a role in keeping the populations of these animals in check.

Indian Gray Mongoose Characteristics, Diet and Smells

Indian gray mongoose

Indian gray mongooses are identified by their silver-grey, salt-and-pepper speckled fur and white-tipped tail. They range in weight from 0.5 to four kilograms (1.1 to 8.8 pounds) and have a head and body length that ranges from 38 to 46 centimeters (15 to 18.1 inches). Their tail is 35 centimeters (13.8 inches) long, giving a total length that ranges from 73 to 81 centimeters (28.8 to 31.89 inches). Indian gray mongooses have 40 teeth and five toes on their fore and hind feet. The hind foot is naked to the heel, but the forefoot has hair that extend its sharp, curved claws. Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females. [Source: Ellen Graham, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Indian gray mongooses are opportunistic hunters feeding mainly on mice, rats, lizards, snakes, and beetles. They also eat ground birds, their eggs, parts of plants, fruits, berries and roots. In India, individuals they have been seen chasing a hare and having a cattle egret in its mouth. Indian gray mongooses have also been observed feeding on the eggs and chicks of the red jungle fowl, peafowl, and partridges. In grasslands they seek out snakes and small mammals. On beaches in Hawaii they wade in the water and look for food under stones.

Indian gray mongooses sense and communicate with vision, sound touch and chemicals usually detected by smelling. They also leave scent marks produced by special glands and placed so others can smell and taste them. When leaving a scent, Indian gray mongooses raise one leg, spraying the urine down the object to be marked. In addition, they may spray high on the object by rearing up on the forepaws into a handstand position and ejecting the secretions. The secretions of the scent glands are strong and can be smelled from far away and have been compared to the smell of a skunk.

Indian gray mongooses have an unusually broad transverse process on their lumbar vertebrae and a wide sacrum, which is believed to help them defend themselves by enabaling them to tucks into a ball like a hedgehog or pangolin. The related Egyptian mongooses do not have special lumbar vertebrae and are not able to do this.

Indian Gray Mongoose Behavior and Reproduction

Indian gray mongooses are terricolous (live on the ground), fossorial (engaged in a burrowing life-style or behavior, and good at digging or burrowing), diurnal (active mainly during the daytime), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area), territorial (defend an area within the home range), social (associates with others of its species; forms social groups), and have dominance hierarchies (ranking systems or pecking orders among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates). [Source: Ellen Graham, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

range of the Indian gray mongoose

Indian gray mongooses can be seen any time of the day but are especially active in the early morning and early evening when they search of reptiles. They use a quick trot, moving constantly, scanning the area for food. They are rarely seen climbing trees. Indian gray mongooses seem to have no fear of scorpions or their sting — they simply pick them up and throw them repeatedly between their back legs onto to hard surfaces until the scorpions break open. Indian gray mongooses use the same technique to break open eggs. Most mongooses use this technique for breaking open average sized eggs but because Indian gray mongooses are fairly large they can hold an average sized egg in their paws and bite open the small end of it. /=\

Indian gray mongooses reproduces rapidly, breeding two to three times a year. Copulation occurs in March, August and October. The number of offspring ranges from two to four. The gestation period ranges from 60 to 65 days. Indian gray mongooses are altricial. This means that young are born relatively underdeveloped and are unable to feed or care for themselves or move independently for a period of time after Females have four to six mammae. birth. During the pre-weaning stage provisioning and protecting are done by females. Pre-independence protection is provided by females. In captivity, a social hierarchy is evident during the mating process with dominant males and females copulating more often than subordinate animals and no significant change in mounting with females in estrus. /=\

Small Indian Mongooses

Small Indian mongooses (Herpestes javanicus) were originally found across south and southeast Asia from Iran in the west through northern Southeast Asia to south coast of China in the east. However, this species has been widely introduced to other places, including to the West Indies, South America, Okinawa in Japan, southern Europe and several Pacific islands, to help control rodent and snake populations. Small Indian mongooses are adaptable animals. In Asia, they live in tropical areas in forests, rainforests, scrub forests and deserts. In the Caribbean, they are found only in dry forests and scrubland. On Pacific islands, they are found both in dry habitats and also in rainforest. Their average lifespan in captivity is eight years. [Source: Jerod Lutz, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Small Indian mongooses are not endangered in fact in some places where they have been introduced there are too many of them. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies them as a species of “Least Concern”. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. In the West Indies, the Hawaiian islands and Okinawa there expensive efforts to exterminate them have mounted.

Mongooses were introduced to the West Indies, beginning in the 1870s, to control rats in sugar cane plantations. In 1883 they were imported to the Hawaiian Islands for the same reason. Both cases proved to be disasters as the mongoose did much environmental damage, preyed upon indigenous species — in some cases causing them to go extinct — and at best only partially reduced the populations of rats. /=\

Small Indian Mongoose Characteristics and Diet

small Indian mongoose

Small Indian mongoose have a slender body and have a head and body length of 51 to 67 centimeters. (20 to 26.4 inches). Their average basal metabolic rate is 2.248 watts. /=\ Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females and have a wider head and bigger body. Males average 650 grams in weight and females 430 grams. [Source: Jerod Lutz, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Small Indian mongoose have typical traits of mongooses but are small. They have a pointed head, short ears, a long tail, and thick hair except on their lower legs. They have five toes and long claws on their feet. Their fur coat can stand on end, which make the animal appear twice as large when it battles enemies such as poisonous snakes.

Small Indian mongooses are primarily carnivores (mainly eat meat or animal parts). They eat foods include birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, eggs carrion, insects, non-insect arthropods, mollusks, terrestrial worms, aquatic crustaceans, seeds, grains, nuts, and fruit. Small Indian mongooses, like many other mongoose species, are famous for their killing techniques, particular when it comes to venomous snakes such as fer-de-lance and habu pit vipers, which they kill in captivity. Vertebrate prey is usually killed with a bite to the back of the head. /=\

Several large field studies have shown the small Indian mongoose are primarily insectivores, though it also feeds opportunistically on small vertebrates A study on the island of Trinidad in 1918 found that the food consumed depended largely on what was available. An examination of the stomachs of 180 individual mongooses turned up insects, spiders, snails, slugs, frogs, lizards, snakes, birds, eggs of birds, reptiles, various kinds of rodents, crabs, fish and fruits. Members of this species have also been known to catch mammals many times their size, such as hares and even the young of white-tailed deer.

Small Indian Mongoose Behavior and Reproduction

Small Indian mongooses are terricolous (live on the ground), diurnal (active mainly during the daytime), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area) and solitary. They sense using touch and chemicals usually detected with smell. In captivity, adults play a fair amount and appear curios. Mutual grooming has been observed between captive individuals of either sex, but only between mother and offspring in the wild. [Source: Jerod Lutz, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

range of the small Indian mongoose

According to Animal Diversity Web: Though this is usually described as a solitary species, males have been found to form social groups and even to share burrows, at least during the breeding season. Behavior that promotes either body warming or cooling has been described. Warming is done in the early hours by exposing as much as possible of the ventral surface to the sun. In hot sunlight they usually cease to be active before panting. When it becomes too hot they seek out the shade and a cool surface on which to lie on their stomachs. If a cool surface is not available, they sometimes scratch away the warm surface soil before lying down./=\

Small Indian mongoose males become sexually mature in as little as four months following birth and their testes contain sperm for the rest of their lives. Northern Hemisphere, breeding females have been found from the end of February until early September; in the Southern Hemisphere from August through February. The number of offspring ranges from one to five, with the average number being two. The average gestation period is 49 days. On average females reach sexual or reproductive maturity at 301 days; males do so at 122 days. /=\

Mongoose Pups Pick Parents

Harvey Leifert wrote in Natural History magazine, “Banded mongooses live in extended-family groups, with as many as ten females breeding at the same time. When they're about a month old, pups leave the communal den to forage with the adults. That's when a pup usually begins to associate exclusively with one particular adult — not necessarily a parent — that provides nourishment and protection. One might assume that the adult chooses the pup it wishes to assist. [Source: Harvey Leifert, Natural History magazine , October 2008]

Not so, says Jason S. Gilchrist of Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland, who has long studied banded mongooses in Uganda. His latest research demonstrates that the pups do the picking, then establish and jealously defend a territorial zone of about a yard radius around their adult "escort." Other pups that venture too close are chased away.

In field experiments, Gilchrist separated pups from their escorts and held them captive for two days. During that time, the adults interacted freely with other pups. When Gilchrist returned the detained pups to the group, however, they quickly reasserted exclusive rights to their escorts. The adults, it seems, are the passive partners in the relationship. Generally, when pups reach three months of age, they no longer require their escorts' services and begin to fend for themselves. Gilchrist concludes that even in cooperatively breeding societies, "conflict can be as rife as cooperation."

Mongooses and Humans

Mongooses are among the biggest pests to farmers, eating snakes that feed on vermin that eat grain, but also can be beneficial by eating vermin. According to Wikipedia: “They can be domesticated and are kept as pets to control vermin. However, they can be more destructive than desired: when imported into the West Indies to kill rats and snakes, they destroyed most of the small, ground-based fauna. For this reason, it is illegal to import most species of mongoose into the United States, Australia, and other countries. Mongooses were introduced to Hawaii in 1883, and have had a significant negative effect on native species. All mongoose species, except for Suricata suricatta, are classed as a "prohibited new organism" under New Zealand's Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 preventing them from being imported into the country.

Some species can learn simple tricks. They are a common spectacle at roadside shows in Pakistan. Snake charmers keep mongooses for mock fights with snakes. In Okinawa, mongooses fight the highly venomous habu snakes before spectators. However, due to pressure from animal rights activists, the spectacle is less common today.

According to Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, Egyptians venerated native mongooses for their ability to handle venomous snakes and for their occasional diet of crocodile eggs. The Buddhist god of wealth Vais'ravan.a, or Dzambala for Tibetans, is frequently depicted holding a mongoose that is spitting jewels from its mouth.

Rudyard Kipling's story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" features a pet mongoose that saves its human family from two deadly cobras. The story was later made into several films. A mongoose also features in Bram Stoker's novel, The Lair of the White Worm. The main character, Adam Salton, purchases one to independently hunt snakes.

Mongooses and Cobras

Cobra and mongoose fights are often staged as a tourist attraction. The practice has been going for some time. Describing a battle between the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi and the cobra Naga, Rudyard Kipling wrote: "Eve to eye and head to head...This shall end when one is dead." Rikki-tikki-tavi was an Indian, or gray mongoose, a species known for killing cobras, even king cobras.

Mongooses usually win. They fight in a dart and weave fashion — provoking the snake to strike — until the snake wears itself out. When the snake tires the mongoose goes in for the kill by crushing the snake’s skull with its jaws. It was often thought that mongooses were able to defeat cobras due to their lighting quick reflexes. They also have an added advantage: an immunity to snake venom. Israeli researchers have found that mongooses can withstand 20 times the venom a mouse can, relative to their body size.

Indian gray mongooses utilize special techniques and adaptations. Ellen Graham wrote in Animal Diversity Web: At first the aggressive mongoose displays its teeth. The snake in turn opens its mouth wide, spreads its hood, and rears back. The cobra strikes time and time again, but the mongoose is able to jump out of reach, weaving and rocking like a boxer. After an hour or so of striking, the snake tires, and the mongoose leaps and attempts to take its first bite. The snake can usually endure the first bite, but the mongoose persists until it is able to hold and crack the cobra's skull. The cobra usually loses because it is unable to strike and retract fast enough to inject its venom. The mongoose would be at a disadvantage against a constrictor or a pitviper. [Source:Ellen Graham, Animal Diversity Web (ADW)]

The cobra-mongoose fight staged for tourist are often sad affairs. Describing one fight, Miller wrote, "The charmer provokes an emaciated mongoose into attacking a feeble cobra, then usually knocks the mongoose away before it can do any damage to the snake.” In the wild mongoose generally only go after small, young cobras. “Mongooses are highly intelligent animals,” Miller wrote, “and it seems unlikely to me they would try to get their dinner in such a difficult and dangerous way when frogs, toads and lizards can be had with no risk at all.”

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated January 2025