A striped mongoose.
A mongoose is a carnivorous mammal in the family Herpestidae, which also includes meerkats. The small mammals are perhaps most famous for their snake-killing abilities in India, where they are sometimes kept as pets. The family was immortalized in Rikki Tikki Tavi, a mongoose story written by Rudyard Kipling. In many parts of the world, the animal is considered lucky, probably due to its formidable predatory abilities.
Meerkats are a type of mongoose.
The name comes from the Marathi language of India, in which the animal is known as a mangus. Since the mongoose does not have any shape or form similar to geese, there is some debate about the proper pluralization of the animal. Some people prefer “mongoose”, standardizing the animal with the plural of “goose”, while others use “mongoose”. Both are technically correct, although many people find the second to be an odd construct.
A snake is a notable enemy of a mongoose.
About 40 species of animals are considered monks. They all have elongated bodies, long tails, and short legs, with pointed snouts and small, curved ears. The claws are suitable both for digging and for building the body of the animal. Many species can stick their ears in to keep out dirt while digging, and none can retract their sharp claws.
Rudyard Kipling’s story Rikki Tikki Tavi made the mongoose famous.
Asia, Africa and parts of Europe are home to these mammals. They feed on small mammals, snakes, insects, and sometimes fruit and seeds as well. Despite their small size, they are excellent hunters, making them popular animals in areas that are preyed upon by rats and other small pests. In fact, the animals are such efficient hunters that they were banned in the United States for fear of threatening native animal species. Some biologists consider the mongoose to be one of the most destructive introduced species, as it can devastate populations of native animals.
The slender, agile animals are kept as pets in many regions, as they are relatively easy to tame and serve a useful function. Their famous snake-fighting skills have made them popular with snake charmers, who can use the animals in mock fights. Contrary to popular belief, the mongoose is not immune to snake venom: the animals simply evolved a system to kill snakes without being bitten. They also generally do not eat the snakes they kill and only kill them as a defensive measure.