Mongoose

Mongoose, common name for several small carnivores found in Africa and Asia.

The head and body of a typical mongoose are a total of 23 to 65 cm (9 to 26 in) long and grayish or brownish in color. The animal has a tapered head, long tail, and short feet. Mongooses live about 7 to 12 years in the wild, but in captivity they may live to more than 20 years. They have one to four young in each litter. They subsist on rodents and snakes and are renowned for attacking even the largest and most poisonous snakes—to whose poison they are not immune—by an agile avoidance of their strikes. Mongooses have been introduced to many areas of the world in order to control rodents and snakes, but importation of mongooses into the United States is prohibited because they also destroy many useful animals.

A common species of mongoose inhabits India. The common Egyptian species, the ichneumon, was worshiped by the ancient Egyptians. A related animal, the suricate, or slender-tailed meerkat, of southern Africa, is easy to tame.

Scientific classification: Mongooses belong to the family Herpestidae. The Indian species is classified as Herpestes edwardsi, the ichneumon as Herpestes ichneumon, and the suricate as Suricata suricatta.

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