Small Indian Mongoose

About this species

Size

Head and body 51–67cm

Diet

On islands where introduced: ground-nesting birds, iguanas, small mammals and turtle eggs

Habitat

Recorded at up to about 2,100m

Range

Iraq east through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh to Myanmar

The small Indian mongoose is a slender mongoose with an elongated head and pointed snout. It is somewhat smaller than the Indian grey mongoose, with which it often shares its range. The account gives its head and body length as 51–67 cm, and the animal lives at elevations of up to 2,100 m. It uses about 12 different vocalisations. It is native from Iraq through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh to Myanmar (Wikipedia, general species account).

Much of what the account records concerns the animals' introduction to islands. Nine were taken from India to Jamaica in 1872 to control rats on sugarcane plantations, and others were released in the Caribbean, the Pacific and Croatia. On these islands they preyed on ground-nesting birds, rock iguanas and small mammals, and raided the nests of green sea turtles. This is a record from the introduced range, not from India (Wikipedia, general species account).

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)