ANIMAL PETS, IN AND OUT OF DOORS 53 



nothing short of remarkable, for it will approach with impunity an 

 animal large enough to swallow it. 



MONGOOSE. — The Mongoose (Fig. 45), which in days gone by 

 was known as the Ichneumon, represents a group of animals that are 

 divided into several genera. Our photograph depicts the Grey 

 Indian Mongoose, and to this representative species our attention 

 may be given. This animal is, as its name implies, an inhabitant 

 of India, and although it is of fierce disposition, it is regarded in its 

 own country as a desirable pet because of its useful habit of preying, 

 among other things, upon Snakes and Rats. It belongs to the Civet 

 family, and in size may be about half as large as a domestic Cat. 



The loose, coarse fur is grizzled-grey in colour, but this varies in 

 different localities, some being rusty-red instead of grey. 



Although a native of India and Ceylon, the species under review 

 has increased its range, through the agency of man, to other parts 

 of the world because of its repute as a slayer of vermin. It was, for 

 example, introduced into Jamaica at a time when the sugar planta- 

 tions there were subjected to the ravages of Rats. Although only a 

 few Mongooses were turned out, their numbers soon increased, until 

 eventually the depredations of one of the worst pests on the face of 

 the earth were kept under control. But there is always an element 

 of danger attached to the introduction of an animal into a foreign 

 country, and this held good in the case in question, for the Mon- 

 gooses, having performed good work in ridding the plantations of 

 Rats, turned their attention to more desirable creatures, and com- 

 menced pillaging hen-roosts. As one writer well says, however, "it 

 is easier to keep a Mongoose out of enclosed premises than it is to 

 keep Rats out of open plantations." It is computed that the good 

 deeds of the Mongoose in Jamaica alone saved the colony ^100,000 

 to ,£150,000 per annum ; but one can have too much of a good thing, 

 as it were, and eventually it was claimed that the Mongooses did 

 more harm than the rodents which preceded them ! 



A deadly enemy to Snakes, and therefore a boon in a country 

 where these venomous reptiles are found in large numbers, it is rare 

 that the mammal comes to grief in an encounter. It is ably protected 

 by means of its harsh hair and thick skin, added to which is the fact 

 that the Mongoose possesses great adroitness when dealing with its 

 reptilian adversary. That it is quite regardless of the effects of 

 poison is proved by the animal having been known to "eat a Cobra's 

 head, poison-glands and all " ! 



