134 



by its extreme watchfulness and activity ; or, if bitten at all, has been 

 so very superficially ; and that perhaps its very thick skin may have a 

 certain degree of insusceptibility to poison. Since this paragraph was 

 first penned, a writer in the Indian Lancet confirms this idea, which 

 he says he has practically proved, both by seeing the cobra bite the 

 mungoos, and by forcing the fang of a cobra into the skin of one, which 

 did not suffer from the experiment. A very recent writer, however, in 

 one of the Indian newspapers, declares that if the. fangs are forced 

 through the skin into the flesh the mungoos will die. 



This little animal is frequently domesticated, and becomes excessively 

 tame, following its owner about like a dog, and effectually clearing a 

 house of rats. Mr. Bennett* mentions that an individual of this 

 species in the Tower, " actually on one occasion killed no fewer than a 

 dozen full-grown rats which were loosed to it in a room sixteen feet 

 square, in less than a minute and a half." The Egyptian Ichneumon, 

 Herpestes ichneumon, is said to have a peculiar penchant for crocodiles' 

 eggs. This habit is not noticed with regard to our species, though I 

 dare say it would devour them if it came across any. 



128. Herpestes malaccensis. 



F. CUVIER, Mamniif. I. pi. 65. BLYTH, Cat. 163. H. nyula, HODG- 

 SON. Newol or Nyul, H. Newdra, in Central India. jBajior fiiji, H, 



in Behar. 



THE BENGAL MUNGOOS. 



Descr. General colour mixed rich reddish-brown and hoary-yellow? 

 the ears, face, and limbs redder, and less maculate ; neck and body pure 

 pale yellow ; tail concolorous with the body, pointed, and nearly equal 

 in length to the body ; the hair harsh, bristly, not closely applied but 

 diffuse. 



Length, head and body, 15 inches ; tail about 10 or 11. 



This mungoos replaces H. griseus in Bengal and other parts of the 

 North of India, and has precisely the same habits as that species. It 

 extends into Assam, Burmah, and Malayana. Hodgson states that it 

 affects cultivated fields and grass, and lives in burrows made by 

 themselves. The females produce 3 to 4 young at a birth. 



* Tower Menagerie, p. 106. 



