The animal mongoose belongs to the mongoose family from the class of mammals, order carnivores. The closest relatives are viverrids. There are about seventeen genera and more than thirty species in the mongoose family.
Description
It is believed that the animal mongoose appeared about 65 million years ago, during the Paleocene. These animals are part of the cat-like suborder, although they look more like ferrets.
Although mongooses are predatory animals, they look very small compared to other carnivorous representatives of the fauna. They have an elongated muscular body, reaching 70 cm. The weight of individuals is from 300 grams to 5 kilograms. The tail is tapered, about two-thirds of the body length.
The head of the animal is neat, with rounded ears, smoothly turning into a muzzle with huge eyes. The animal mongoose has many teeth - about 40 pcs. They are small and designed to bite through the skin of a snake.
Representatives of the species have excellent eyesight, flexible body, lightning-fast reaction. In addition to teeth, claws help to cope with enemies. They are also used for digging underground passages.
Mongoose fur is thick, dense, saves from snake bites. Different subspecies have different colors: striped, solid.
Subspecies
The most common mongoose subspecies are:
- white-tailed;
- water;
- striped;
- dwarf;
- yellow;
- blackfoot;
- Liberian;
- brown;
- Indian;
- ordinary;
- striped;
- crabeater;
- Egyptian.
The common and Indian mongoose are considered the best snake fighters. The latter species is capable of killing two meter spectacled cobras.
Lifestyle
In nature, the mongoose is a peaceful inhabitant, able to exist peacefully with other animals, although there are hermits. They show twilight activity. During the day, activity is observed in those individuals who prefer to live in groups. Meerkats, dwarfs and striped species can climb into other people's burrows without fear of proximity to other animals, such as ground squirrels.
Striped or dwarf mongoose animals, the photo of which is presented in the article, often inhabit termite mounds, where they leave their offspring and a couple of adults while others get food. In total, there are up to 40 representatives of animals in a family group.
In the heat, mongooses thrive under the scorching sun. Their camouflage color helps to hide from prying eyes, animals. Thanks to him, the animals completely merge with the landscape. But evencomplete secrecy does not give complete rest to the predator. While the group is basking in the sun, a sentry is always watching her rest. He warns of danger, monitors the area. In the event of a threat, the sentry warns the group and they quickly hide.
Lifespan
Individuals born in large groups are able to live longer than those that live in small groups or hermits. This is due to the fact that mongooses are collective and responsible animals. In the event of the death of parents, other individuals take over the upbringing of orphans.
Mongooses are fighting for their lives on their own. If suddenly they are bitten by a snake, then to cure the poison, the animal eats the healing root "mangusweil", which helps to heal.
In nature, mongooses can live up to eight years, and in captivity - up to 15.
Where he lives
The habitat of the mongoose is mainly the regions of Asia, Africa, although there are European individuals that are found in Southern Europe. The ideal conditions for the life of animals are considered: humid jungle, savannahs, sea coasts, wooded mountains, deserts and semi-deserts, cities. They can adapt sewers, crevices in rocks, ditches, hollows for their housing. Most of the individuals lead a terrestrial lifestyle, and only African and ring-tailed mongooses live in trees. You can find the mongoose dwelling underground, where it creates multi-corridor tunnels. Nomadic individuals change their home twice a year.
Diet
And what does a mongoose eat in nature and how do they get food? Almost all representatives look for food on their own, but there are situations when, in order to obtain large prey, they unite in flocks. This is what dwarf animals do.
Mongooses are omnivorous and not selective, they eat almost everything that the eye falls on. Most of the diet is insects. Less commonly, individuals eat plants and small animals, carrion.
So what do mongooses eat in the wild, what is on their menu? In the diet of animals:
- small rodents;
- insects;
- eggs;
- birds;
- mammals;
- fruits, roots, leaves, tubers;
- reptiles.
If necessary, mongooses can eat amphibians and other food. So, crabeater mongooses prefer to eat crustaceans. Water representatives of animals do not refuse such a diet. They look for crabs, crustaceans in streams, pulling prey from the muddy bottom with their sharp claws.
And what do mongooses eat in the wild, what foods? Animals do not deny themselves the pleasure of eating eggs. They might destroy the crocodile's nest.
Animals can eat spiders, larvae, bugs. They tear open insect burrows with their claws, and their lightning-fast reaction allows them to quickly grab prey.
Enemies of animals
Mongooses have enemies. They can become prey for birds, leopards, jackals, snakes, caracals and other predatory animals. Most often, enemies catch mongoose cubs that do not have time tohide.
Adults usually have time to hide, but if she is driven into a corner, she begins to defend herself. The mongoose arches its back, the fur begins to bristle, the tail rises menacingly, a roar and bark is heard. The animal begins to bite and release a liquid with a specific smell from the anal glands.
Reproduction
Mongoose reproduction is not fully understood. It is known that the female is able to bring up to three cubs. They are born blind, naked. Two weeks later, the babies open their eyes, and until this period they are completely guided by the smell of the mother.
Mongoose pregnancy lasts two months, although there are exceptions. The Indian mongoose bears cubs for 40 days, while the narrow-striped species has a pregnancy of 100 days.
Newborn animals weigh about 20 grams. There are up to six babies in one brood. The cubs of all females of the group are always kept together. They can eat not only their mother's milk, but also any other.
The sexual behavior of dwarf representatives is of great interest to scientists. Usually their community consists of 10 individuals related to each other through the maternal line. Such a group is controlled by a monogamous couple, where the role of the queen is played by the oldest individual, and her partner is the deputy. Only this female can reproduce offspring, suppressing the instincts of other animals. Males who are not ready to put up with this behavior often leave for other groups where they can have children.
As soon as the cubs appear in the group, the role of nanniesis transferred to males, and females get food. Nannies look after newborns, if necessary, protect them from predators by dragging them in their teeth from one place to another. When the babies grow up and stop eating mother's milk, they are offered solid food, even later they are taken with them, they are taught to get food. By the year, the young grow up and are ready to breed.
Mongoose population
Mongooses are considered fertile animals, which is why they are prohibited from being imported into some countries of the world. They multiply rapidly and can cause great damage to farms, exterminating not only rodents, but also poultry.
At the beginning of the century before last, mongooses were used in Hawaii to exterminate rats and mice that ate the entire cane crop. As a result of rapid reproduction, mongooses began to pose a real threat, after they completely exterminated mice and rats.
Human activities have led to the fact that the mongooses have become on the path of complete destruction. Deforestation, the development of new lands by people led to the fact that habitual habitats began to be devastated. Because of this, the animals are forced to migrate to new regions, looking for food. Human activity has left some species of mongoose on the verge of extinction, while others have bred too much.
