A slippery animal with a slippery brain. This is a common dwarf mongoose of southern and eastern Africa. (Photo by Miika Silfverberg)

The mongooses, of which there are 32 species in Africa, southern Asia, and extreme southwestern Europe, are cat-like carnivorans that are related to the civets, but live on the ground rather than up in trees. Unlike most of the cat-like animals, the mongoose cannot retract its claws; since it does not climb trees, it has no need to. The mongoose is a very down to earth animal, you might say.

Though they look similar to weasels, the similarities are entirely coincidental. Mongooses live in underground burrows, and such a lifestyle favours a long, narrow body with a pointed face, short legs, and short hair.

Some of the mongooses are among the most social of all carnivorans, though a few are alternately quite solitary. Those that have adapted a social lifestyle appear to have done so largely in self-defense. Because the mongoose is a smaller animal that lives on the ground, often in open areas, it can be a prime target for larger predators, including birds of prey. Living in family groups that are sometimes quite large, mongooses can keep watch and warn each other of danger, giving everyone time to vanish into the safety of underground burrows.

The common dwarf mongoose of south and eastern Africa is the smallest of the family, and is only as large as your average squirrel. It’s good to have friends when you’re small, and this particular mongoose has made an interesting one. A mutualistic relationship, which is a relationship between animals where both parties benefit, has developed between the dwarf mongoose and the hornbill, a type of tropical bird with a curved bill. The two animals will join forces to forage for food together, and will warn one another of any danger nearby. This gives both animals a better chance of survival, and is an interesting example of cross-species cooperation. When both the mongoose and the hornbill have reached safety, one can presume that they high-five and do a little dance.

The mongoose and the hornbill: best friends forever? (Photo by smudger888)

The largest is the white-tailed mongoose, found on most of the African grassland areas. It is more of a size with domestic cats, and are one of the more solitary species. Unlike other mongooses, the white-tailed mongoose has apparently decided that it is too heavy for standing up on its hind legs, a common sight in other species. This mongoose prefers to keep its belly to the ground.

A mongoose will eat just about anything that’s smaller than it is, including insects, crabs, worms, lizards, and rodents, and will also feast on larger prey such as chickens if the pickings are easy. This inclusive predatory nature makes them extremely dangerous when introduced to new environments, and they have caused significant damage on several islands, including the Hawaiian Islands. For this reason, it is illegal to import mongooses in many countries where they are not naturally found. Somehow they have not yet made their way to Australia, which is where every other invasive species on the planet seems to end up.

But the most interesting thing about the mongoose is undoubtedly its ability to kill large, venomous snakes, such as the cobra. Though this ability is exaggerated in most stories and exacerbated by trained mongooses fighting trained snakes in staged exhibitions, the ability itself is very real.

If given a choice, most mongooses will avoid a dangerous snake rather than pick a fight, but sometimes, either out of self-defense or defense of the family group, the mongoose must pull up its furry socks and stare down a deadly foe. The mongoose may be small, but it is also quick and agile, able to evade even the lightning-fast strike of a snake and retaliate with its own sharp teeth. However, what the mongoose really has going for it in terms of survival is a curious evolutionary cheat.

Receptors in the mongoose’s brain are specially shaped to reject the neurotoxin in a snake’s venom, rendering the mongoose effectively immune to the poison that would otherwise cripple it. This same evolutionary wonder is possessed by the snakes, so that they cannot accidentally poison themselves, but the snake and the mongoose are very, very much not related. The immunity is essentially a lucky evolutionary twist that was passed on to every mongoose over time.

A snake can still kill a mongoose with its teeth in a fair fight, so nothing is settled until a clash is over, but the mongoose stands a fighting chance thanks to its immunity and its quick feet. The most famous cobra-fighting mongoose is undoubtedly Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a character in one of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book stories.

Mongoose distribution