The Indian grey mongoose (''Urva edwardsii'') 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
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
native to the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
and
West Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...
. 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 ...
.
[
The grey mongoose inhabits open forests, scrublands and cultivated fields, often close to human habitation. It lives in burrows, hedgerows and thickets, among groves of trees, and takes shelter under rocks or bushes and even in drains. It is bold and inquisitive but wary, seldom venturing far from cover. It is an excellent climber and usually lives singly or in pairs. Its prey includes rodents, snakes, birds’ eggs and hatchlings, lizards and a variety of ]invertebrates
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordat ...
. Along the Chambal River it occasionally feeds on gharial eggs. It breeds throughout the year.
Characteristics
The Indian grey mongoose has tawny grey or iron grey fur, which is more grizzled and stiffer and coarser than that of other mongooses. The ruddiness of the coat varies in different subspecies, but it is described as appearing more grey than other mongooses. The grizzled appearance comes from the individual hairs being ringed by creamy-white and black. The legs are brown and darker than the body. The hair around the muzzle and eyes is also brown but with a stronger rusty red colouring. The tail is bushy, whilst the tip of the tail, if coloured, is pale yellow or white.
Their tail length equals their body length. Body length: 36–45 cm (14-17 inches) Tail length: 45 cm (17 inches), weight: 0.9-1.7 kg (2-4 lb). Males are significantly larger than the females. Indian grey mongooses are unusual in that they can discriminate four colours, more than most other mammals.
Distribution and habitat
It has been generally accepted that the Indian grey mongoose occurs in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, as represented by the distribution map.[ A 2007 study found specimens also in Turkey, and United Arab Emirates, thus extending the known range.
Despite being a common animal, the natural history of the Indian grey mongoose is not well known.][ They appear to be able to occupy a wide variety of habitats but preferring open types. These include grasslands, open areas, rocky patches, scrub, semi-desert, cultivated fields and other disturbed areas, areas of thickets, bushy vegetation, dry secondary forest, ]thorn forest
A thorn forest is a dense scrubland with vegetation characteristic of dry subtropical and warm temperate areas with a seasonal rainfall averaging .
Regions Africa
Is present in the southwest of Africa with smaller areas in other places of Africa.
...
, forest edges, and also near human settlement.[ Although the creature has been described as being less dependent on human settlements, observations in India in heavily forested areas show it to be much more common around human settlements often scavenging on waste.
]
Taxonomy
''Ichneumon edwardsii'' was the scientific name proposed by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (15 April 177219 June 1844) was a French naturalist who established the principle of "unity of composition". He was a colleague of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and expanded and defended Lamarck's evolutionary theories ...
in 1817. It was later classified in the genus ''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 ...
'', but all Asian mongooses are now classified in the genus ''Urva
Urva (also, Urvan, lez, Вурвар) is a village and municipality in the Qusar Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 2,472. The municipality consists of the villages of Urva and Urvaoba Urvaoba is a village in the municipality of Urva ...
''.
Subspecies:
* ''U. e. edwardsii''
* ''U. e. ferrugineus''
* ''U. e. lanka''
* ''U. e. montanus''
* ''U. e. nyula''
Ecology and behaviour
The Indian grey mongoose is omnivorous, though most of its diet is made up from live prey it catches from being an opportunistic hunter, with mice, rats, lizards, snakes, and beetles making up the bulk. Also eaten are ground birds, their eggs, grasshoppers, scorpions, centipedes, frogs, crabs, fish, and parts of plants: fruits, berries, and roots, as well as larger prey including hares and egrets. It kills prey by delivering a bite to the neck or head.
This species is known for its ability to combat venomous snakes. It primarily achieves this through tiring the snake out, by enticing it to make multiple strikes which it acrobatically avoids.[ Secondary protection against the venomous bite includes the stiff rigid hair, which is excited at such times, the thick loose skin and specialised acetylcholine receptors render it resistant or immune to snake venom.
When dealing with scorpions, no measures are taken to disable the sting, and they are picked up in any manner.][
The Indian grey mongoose typically opens eggs by holding them between the paws and biting a hole in the little end.] Smaller mongooses typically open eggs by throwing them between their legs against a hard object, so it has been speculated,[ that the adult Indian grey mongoose should do likewise with large eggs.
]
The Indian grey mongoose mates between March and October, it breeding two to three times each year. The gestation period lasts for 60 to 65 days, the female gives birth to two to four offspring.
The lifespan of the Indian grey mongoose is seven years in the wild, or 12 years, when in captivity.
Relation with humans
The Indian grey mongoose is often kept as a pet to keep dwellings free from rats and other pests.
The Indian grey mongoose is the state animal
This is a list of animals that represent first-level administrative country subdivisions.
List by country
Australia
Brazil
* See also List of Brazilian state birds
Canada
People's Republic of China
India
Indonesia
Italy
Japan ...
of Chandigarh
Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which a ...
.
The species is protected in India, but an illegal trade in hair for the purposes of making of paint brushes and shaving brushes continues, and this is one of its most significant threats.[ About 3000 mongoose were killed to produce 155 kg. of raw mongoose hair, which were seized by Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) in 2018.
]
Etymology
The Indian grey mongoose is called or in classical Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
; in Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
;
in Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
;
, and in Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
.
In popular culture
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" is a short story in the 1894 anthology ''The Jungle Book'' by Rudyard Kipling about adventures of a valiant young Indian grey mongoose. It has often been anthologized and has been published several times as a short book. Book 5 ...
" is a short story by Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
about the adventures of a valiant young Indian grey mongoose.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q613760
Urva (genus)
Mammals of India
Mammals of Nepal
Mammals of Bhutan
Mammals of Sri Lanka
Mammals described in 1818
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN