SMALL INDIAN MONGOOSE
DESCRIPTION: This is a small, olive–brown
or dark brown mongoose with golden speckles. It is slender with short legs, and
its fur is short and silken. An individual hair, if examined, shows three dark
rings and two pale ones. Northern and wetter habitat forms are dark brown with
paler paws, while desert forms can have a pale, or even whitish, underside. The
ears are small and rounded, the muzzle elongated with a dark nose pad, and the
small eyes have a brown iris. Males are larger than females and have a broader
head. The taxonomy of the Marsh Mongoose of West Bengal is debated and it may
be a subspecies or be accorded full specific status as H. palustris. Either
way, it is a smaller creature with black colouring on the muzzle that extends
up to the orbital zone unlike in the Small Indian Mongoose.
BEHAVIOUR: Marks actively with their anal pad
and has varied vocalizations including a weep, squawk, honk, pant, spit, bark,
chuck, scream and growl.
DISTRIBUTION: Northern plains, extending to
Kolkata, West Bengal, in the east (sea level to 2,100 m).
HABITAT: Open scrub, hedges, farms, human habitation and even deserts. Marsh Mongoose in swampy marshlands.
Size: 22–44 cm
IUCN Status: Least Concern
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