Mongoose
mongoose
{plural – ‘mongooses’ and also ‘mongeese’ }
a kind of animals – four-legged – meat-eating – long body with brown or grey or greyish-brown, narrow head with small rounded ears, long snout (= mouth and nose part), round clear eyes, short legs with long strong claws, long thick tail; size:1-4 feet long with 6 inches to 1 foot tail, and weight: 250 grams to 4 Kg; feeds on (eats) insects, crabs, worms, earthworms, lizards, snails, mice, rats, scorpions, and some fruit; lives for 12-20 years; about 30 species found in Asia, Africa, southern Europe and some Caribbean islands
[The sound most mongooses make is called ‘giggle’ (?) The ‘meerkats’ or ‘suricats’ also belong to mongooses.]
Some common mongooses are: grey mongoose, banded mongoose, dwarf mongoose, Egyptian mongoose, European mongoose
Special Features:
Mongooses are useful animals; they keep the number of pest animals (vermin), such as mice, rats, scorpions and snakes under control by eating them.
Mongooses have resistance to snake venom; they are not affected even by the cobra venom (= poison); and when a mongoose and a cobra fight, most often, the mongoose’s speed and the thick fur protect it from the snake bite.
In ancient Egyptian culture, the mongoose was worshipped for its ability to kill snakes and eat away the crocodile eggs. It was pet-named “Pharaoh’s mouse”!
In India and in some other parts in Asia, snake charmers showing mock fights between cobras (snakes) and mongooses used to be a common sight until recently. In fact, in Okinawa province of Japan, there are special shows of mock fights between cobras and mongoose arranged to entertain tourists!
Mongooses are mentioned in children stories and in some motion pictures.
The lead character in the most popular children story “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”, written by Rudyard Kipling, a British writer born in India, is a mongoose!
Some people keep mongooses as pets!!
Mr. Kumar, an English language teacher, having taught in many countries around the world including Ethiopia and Oman shares this English Language Reference website using material that he has written and compiled during the past 20 years.
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