The Egyptian mongoose (''Herpestes ichneumon''), also known as ichneumon (), is a
mongoose
A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...
species native to the coastal regions along the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
between
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
,
tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is dominated by grass and/or shrubs located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and t ...
in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. Whether it is introduced or native to the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
is in some doubt. Because of its widespread occurrence, it is listed as
Least Concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
on the
IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
.
Characteristics
The Egyptian mongoose's long, coarse fur is grey to reddish brown and ticked with brown and yellow flecks. Its snout is pointed, its ears are small. Its slender body is long with a long black tipped tail. Its hind feet and a small area around the eyes are furless. It has 35–40 teeth, with highly developed
carnassial
Carnassials are paired upper and lower teeth modified in such a way as to allow enlarged and often self-sharpening edges to pass by each other in a shearing manner. This adaptation is found in carnivorans, where the carnassials are the modified f ...
s, used for shearing meat. It weighs .
Sexually dimorphic
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
Egyptian mongooses were observed in Portugal, where some females are smaller than males.
Female Egyptian mongooses have 44
chromosome
A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...
s, and males 43, as one
Y chromosome
The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...
is translocated to an
autosome.
Distribution and habitat
The Egyptian mongoose lives in
swampy and
marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
y habitats near streams,
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
s,
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
s and in
coast
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...
al areas. Where it inhabits
maquis shrubland in the Iberian Peninsula, it prefers areas close to rivers with dense
vegetation
Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characte ...
. It does not occur in deserts.
[
It has been recorded in ]Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
from north of the Douro River
The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...
to the south, and in Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
from the central plateau, Andalucía to the Strait of Gibraltar.
In North Africa, it occurs along the coast from Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...
to Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
, and from northern Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
across the Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...
.
In Egypt, one individual was observed in Faiyum Oasis
The Faiyum Oasis ( ar, واحة الفيوم ''Waḥet El Fayyum'') is a depression or basin in the desert immediately to the west of the Nile, or just 62 miles south of Cairo in Egypt. The extent of the basin area is estimated at between 1,270 ...
in 1993. In the same year, its tracks were recorded in sand dunes close to the coast near Sidi Barrani
Sidi Barrani ( ar, سيدي براني ) is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about
east of the Egypt–Libya border, and around from Tobruk, Libya.
Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of ...
.
An individual was observed on an island in Lake Burullus in the Nile Delta during an ecological survey in the late 1990s.
In the Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The ...
, it was recorded in the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
and Jericho Governorate
The Jericho Governorate ( ar, محافظة أريحا, Muḥāfaẓat Arīḥā) is one of 16 Governorates of Palestine. Its capital is Jericho. The governorate is located along the eastern areas of the West Bank, along the northern Dead Sea and ...
in the West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
during surveys carried out between 2012 and 2016.
In western Syria, it was observed in the Latakia Governorate
Latakia Governorate, also transliterated as Ladhakia Governorate, ( ar, مُحافظة اللاذقية / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat al-Lādhiqīyah'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Turkey's Hata ...
between 1989 and 1995; taxidermied
Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...
specimens were offered in local shops.
In southern Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, it was recorded in the Hatay
Hatay Province ( tr, Hatay ili, ) is the southernmost province of Turkey. It is situated almost entirely outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province of ...
and Adana Province
Adana Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey located in central Cilicia. With a population of 2.26 million, it is the sixth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 79% of the r ...
s.
In Sudan, it is present in the vicinity of human settlements along the Rahad River
The Rahad is a river whose sources are in Ethiopia, where it is called Shinfa, and a tributary of the Abay (Blue Nile) on the right side. The river has its origins in the Ethiopian Highlands (west of Lake Tana), from where it flows into eastern ...
and in Dinder National Park. It was also recorded in the Dinder– Alatash protected area complex during surveys between 2015 and 2018. In Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, the Egyptian mongoose was recorded at altitudes of in the Ethiopian Highlands
The Ethiopian Highlands is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , while the summits reach heights of up to . ...
.
In Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, it was observed in 2000 in Niokolo-Koba National Park
The Niokolo-Koba National Park (french: Parc National du Niokolo Koba, PNNK) is a World Heritage Site and natural protected area in south eastern Senegal near the Guinea border. It is served by Niokolo-Koba Airport, an unpaved airstrip.
Nation ...
, which mainly encompasses open habitat dominated by grasses
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns ...
.
In Guinea’s National Park of Upper Niger
The National Park of Upper Niger is a national park in Guinea that was gazetted in January 1997 with a core area of . The park protects important tracts of forest and savannah, and is considered a conservation priority for West Africa as a whol ...
, the occurrence of the Egyptian mongoose was first documented during surveys in spring 1997. Surveyors found dead individuals on bushmeat markets in villages located in the vicinity of the park.
In Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
’s Moukalaba-Doudou National Park
Moukalaba-Doudou National Park is a national park in Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered ...
, it was recorded only in savanna habitats.
In the Republic of Congo, it was repeatedly observed in the Western Congolian forest–savanna mosaic
The Western Congolian forest–savanna mosaic is an ecoregion of Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, and Gabon.
Geography
The forest–savanna mosaic covers a region of dissected plateaus lying between the Congo Basi ...
of Odzala-Kokoua National Park
Odzala-Kokoua National Park (or Odzala National Park) is a national park in the Republic of the Congo. The park was first protected in 1935, declared a biosphere reserve in 1977, and granted official designation by presidential decree in 2001. Odz ...
during surveys in 2007.
In the 1990s, it was considered a common species in Tanzania's Mkomazi National Park
Mkomazi National Park is located in northeastern Tanzania on the Kenyan border, in Kilimanjaro Region and Tanga Region. It was established as a game reserve in 1951 and upgraded to a national park in 2006.
The park covers over , and is dominate ...
.
Occurrence in Iberian Peninsula
Several hypotheses were proposed to explain the occurrence of the Egyptian mongoose in the Iberian Peninsula:
*TraditionalIy, it was thought to have been introduced following the Muslim invasion in the 8th century.
*Bones of Egyptian mongoose excavated in Spain and Portugal were radiocarbon date
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was dev ...
d to the first century. The scientists therefore suggested an introduction during the Roman Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...
era and use for eliminating rats and mice in domestic areas.
*Other authors proposed a natural colonisation of the Iberian Peninsula during the Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...
across a land bridge when sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
s were low between glacial
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...
and interglacial period
An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene in ...
s. This population would have remained isolated from populations in Africa after the last ice age.
Behaviour and ecology
The Egyptian mongoose is diurnal.
In Doñana National Park
Doñana National Park or Parque Nacional y Natural de Doñana is a natural reserve in Andalucía, southern Spain, in the provinces of Huelva (most of its territory), Cádiz and Seville. It covers , of which are a protected area. The park is an ...
, single Egyptian mongooses, pairs and groups of up to five individuals were observed. Adult males showed territorial
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
behaviour, and shared their home ranges with one or several females. The home ranges of adult females overlapped to some degree, except in core areas where they raised their offspring.
It preys on rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...
s, fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
. It also feeds on fruit and eggs. To crack eggs open, it throws them between its legs against a rock or wall.[
In Doñana National Park, 30 Egyptian mongooses were radio-tracked in 1985 and their ]faeces
Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...
collected. These samples contained remains of European rabbit
The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has b ...
(''Oryctolagus cuniculus''), sand lizards (''Psammodromus
''Psammodromus'' is a small genus of sand lizards of the family ''Lacertidae''. It has six described species, which are found in European and North African countries next to the Mediterranean.
Species
The following species are recognized as ...
''), Iberian spadefoot toad ('' Pelobates cultripes''), greater white-toothed shrew
The greater white-toothed shrew (''Crocidura russula'') is a small insectivorous mammal found in Europe and North Africa. It is the most common of the white-toothed shrews. This species is found along the Mediterranean, Netherlands, Belgium, Irel ...
(''Crocidura russula''), three-toed skink ('' Chalcides chalcides''), dabbling ducks (''Anas
''Anas'' is a genus of dabbling ducks. It includes the pintails, most teals, and the mallard and its close relatives. It formerly included additional species but following the publication of a molecular phylogenetic study in 2009 the genus was s ...
''), western cattle egret
The western cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. Most taxonomic authorities lump this species and the eastern cattle egret together (called the catt ...
(''Bubulcus ibis''), wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
(''Sus scrofa'') meat, Algerian mouse (''Mus spretus'') and rat species (''Rattus
''Rattus'' is a genus of muroid rodents, all typically called rats. However, the term rat can also be applied to rodent species outside of this genus.
Species and description
The best-known ''Rattus'' species are the black rat (''R. rattus'') ...
'').
Research in southeastern Nigeria revealed that it also feeds on giant pouched rats (''Cricetomys''), Temminck's mouse (''Mus musculoides''), Tullberg's soft-furred mouse (''Praomys tulbergi''), Nigerian shrew
The Nigerian shrew (''Crocidura nigeriae'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. The animal is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Togo, and there are claims of it also being found in Ghana
Ghana (; ...
(''Crocidura nigeriae''), Hallowell's toad (''Amietophrynus maculatus''), African brown water snake (''Afronatrix anoscopus''), and ''Mabuya
''Mabuya'' is a genus of long-tailed skinks restricted to species from various Caribbean islands. They are primarily carnivorous, though many are omnivorous. The genus is viviparous, having a highly evolved placenta that resembles that of euther ...
'' skinks.
It attacks and feeds on venomous snake
Venomous snakes are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow or g ...
s, and is resistant to the venom of Palestine viper (''Daboia palaestinae
''Daboia palaestinae'', also known as the Palestine viper,Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers.'' Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. .Mehrtens JM. 1987. ''Living ...
''), black desert cobra (''Walterinnesia aegyptia
''Walterinnesia aegyptia'', also known as the desert cobra or desert black snake, is a species of venomous snakes in the family Elapidae that is native to the Middle East. The specific epithet ''aegyptia'' (“of Egypt”) refers to part of its ...
'') and black-necked spitting cobra (''Naja nigricollis'').
In Spain, it has been recorded less frequently in areas where the Iberian lynx
The Iberian lynx (''Lynx pardinus'') is a wild cat species endemic to the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. In the 20th century, the Iberian lynx population had declined because of overhun ...
was reintroduced.
Reproduction
Captive males and females reach sexual maturity
Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definit ...
at the age of two years. In Doñana National Park, courtship and mating
In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite- sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reprod ...
happens in spring between February and June. Two to three pups are born between mid April and mid August after a gestation of 11 weeks. They are hairless at first, and open their eyes after about a week. Females take care of them for up to one year, occasionally also longer. They start foraging on their own at the age of four months, but compete for food brought back to them after that age. In the wild, Egyptian mongooses probably reach 12 years of age. A captive Egyptian mongoose was over 20 years old.[
Its generation length is 7.5 years.
]
Taxonomy
In 1758, Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...
described an Egyptian mongoose from the area of the Nile River in Egypt in his work '' Systema Naturae'' and gave it the scientific name ''Viverra ichneumon''.[ ]
''H. i. ichneumon'' (Linnaeus, 1758) is the nominate subspecies. The following zoological specimen
A zoological specimen is an animal or part of an animal preserved for scientific use.
Various uses are: to verify the identity of a (species), to allow study, increase public knowledge of zoology.
Zoological specimens are extremely diverse. Exampl ...
were described between the late 18th century and the early 1930s as subspecies:
* ''Viverra cafra'' ( Gmelin, 1788) − based on a description of a specimen from the Cape of Good Hope.
* ''Herpestes ichneumon numidicus'' F. G. Cuvier, 1834 − two individuals from Algiers in Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
kept in the menagerie of the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle
The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...
, France
* ''Herpestes ichneumon widdringtonii'' Gray
Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...
, 1842 − a specimen from Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It stretches for 450 kilometres from east to west across the south of the Iberian Peninsula, forming the southern border of the ''Meseta Central'' plateau and providi ...
in Spain
* ''Herpestes angolensis'' (Bocage
Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use.
''Bocage'' may als ...
, 1890) − a male specimen from Quissange in Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
* ''Mungos ichneumon parvidens'' ( Lönnberg, 1908) − three specimens collected near the lower Congo River
The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...
in Congo Free State
* ''Mungos ichneumon funestus'' ( Osgood, 1910) − a specimen from Naivasha in British East Africa
East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...
* ''Mungos ichneumon centralis'' (Lönnberg, 1917) − two specimens from Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Beni is a city in north eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, lying immediately west of the Virunga National Park and the Rwenzori Mountains, on the edge of the Ituri Forest.
Overview
Beni is home to a market, an airport and the Christian Bi ...
* ''Herpestes ichneumon sangronizi'' Cabrera, 1924 − a specimen from Mogador
Essaouira ( ; ar, الصويرة, aṣ-Ṣawīra; shi, ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Taṣṣort, formerly ''Amegdul''), known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It ha ...
in Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
* ''Herpestes caffer sabiensis'' ( Roberts, 1926) − a specimen from Sabi Sand Game Reserve
Sabi Sand Game Reserve is located adjacent to the Kruger National Park in the Lowveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa. Officially named Sabi Sand Wildtuin, the Sabi Sand Game Reserve consists of a group of private game reserves. The Newington Ga ...
in Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
* ''Herpestes cafer mababiensis'' (Roberts, 1932) − a specimen from Mababe
Mababe is a village in North-West District of Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, w ...
in northern Bechuanaland
In 1811, Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger
Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger (19 November 1775 – 10 May 1813) was a German entomologist and zoologist.
Illiger was the son of a merchant in Braunschweig. He studied under the entomologist Johann Hellwig, and later worked on the zoological colle ...
subsumed the ichneumon to the genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''Herpestes
''Herpestes'' is a genus within the mongoose family Herpestidae. Several species in the family are known as slender mongooses. It is the type genus of the family, and comprises 5-6 living species, each with several subspecies.
Fossil remains of ...
''.
Threats
A survey of poaching
Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights.
Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
methods in Israel carried out in autumn 2000 revealed that the Egyptian mongoose is affected by snaring in agricultural areas. Most of the traps found were set up by Thai guest workers.
Numerous dried heads of Egyptian mongooses were found in 2007 at the Dantokpa Market in southern Benin, suggesting that it is used as fetish in animal ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...
s.
Conservation
The Egyptian mongoose is listed on Appendix III of the Berne Convention
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, was an international assembly held in 1886 in the Swiss city of Bern by ten European countries with the goal to agree on a set of leg ...
, and Annex V of the European Union Habitats and Species Directive.
In Israel, wildlife is protected by law, and hunting allowed only with a permit.[
]
In culture
Mummified
A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...
remains of four Egyptian mongooses were excavated in the catacombs of Anubis
Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depict ...
at Saqqara
Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis ...
during works started in 2009.
At the cemetery of Beni Hasan
Beni Hasan (also written as Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) ( ar, بني حسن) is an ancient Egyptian cemetery. It is located approximately to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as Middle Egypt, the area between Asyut and Mem ...
, an Egyptian mongoose on a leash is depicted in the tomb of Baqet I dating to the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt
The Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XI) is a well-attested group of rulers. Its earlier members before Pharaoh Mentuhotep II are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, whereas the la ...
.
The American poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a poem as an elegy
An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...
for an ichneumon, which had been brought to Haverhill Academy in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1830. The long lost poem was published in the November 1902 issue of "The Independent" magazine.
In Christopher Smart's poem, ''Jubilate Agno
''Jubilate Agno'' (Latin: "Rejoice in the Lamb") is a religious poem by Christopher Smart, and was written between 1759 and 1763, during Smart's confinement for insanity in St. Luke's Hospital, Bethnal Green, London. The poem was first publis ...
'', the poet's cat Jeoffry was praised in line 63: "For he killed the Ichneumon-rat very pernicious by land," for a purported attack on an Egyptian mongoose.
The Sherlock Holmes canon also features an ichneumon the short story The Adventure of the Crooked Man
"The Adventure of the Crooked Man", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as ''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in ''The Strand Magazin ...
, though due to Watson's description of its appearance and its owner's history in India it is likely to actually be an Indian grey mongoose
The Indian grey mongoose (''Urva edwardsii'') is a mongoose species native to the Indian subcontinent and West Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
The grey mongoose inhabits open forests, scrublands and cultivated fields ...
.[
]
See also
* Ichneumon (In medieval zoology)
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q649306
Herpestes
Mammals of Ethiopia
Mammals of Angola
Mammals of Turkey
Mongooses of Africa
Mammals described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus