J/C-YGOOSES. 471 



of all the sailors on board ship, for his accomplishments were varied. . . . From 

 watching him, I observed many little habits belonging to these animals. He was 

 excessively clean, and. after eating, would pick his teeth with his claws in a most 

 absurd manner. I <'o not know whether a mungoose in a wild state will eat carrion, 

 but he would not touch anything tainted, and, though very fond of freshly-cooked 

 game, would turn up his nose at ' high ' partridge or grouse. He was very fond 

 of eggs, and, holding them in his fore-paws, would cracxk a little hole at the small 

 (.ml, through which he would suck the contents. He was a very good ratter, and 

 also killed many snakes against which I pitted him. His way seemed to be to 

 tease the snake into darting at him, when, with inconceivable rapidity, he would 

 pounce on the reptile's head. He seemed to know instinctively which were the 

 poisonous ones, and acted with corresponding caution. I tried him once with some 

 sea-snakes, which are poisonous, but he could get no fight out of them, and crunched 

 their heads off, one after the other." 



Much has been written as to the combats of both the Egyptian and the Indian 

 mungoose with venomous snakes, and also as to the alleged immunity of these 

 animals from snake-poison. On these points Mr. Blanford writes as follows : " The 

 prevalent belief throughout oriental countries is, that the mungoose, when bitten, 

 seeks for an antidote, a herb or root known in India as manguswail. It is scarcely 

 necessary to say that the story is destitute of foundation. There is, however, 

 another view, supported by some evidence, that the mungoose is less susceptible to 

 snake-poison than other animals. The mungoose is not always willing to attack, 

 though at other times he is ready enough to fight. I have not seen many combats, 

 but, so far as I can judge from the few I have witnessed, Jerdon and Sterndale 

 are correct in their view that the mungoose usually escapes being bitten by his 

 wonderful activity. He appears to* wait till the snake makes a dart at him, and 

 then suddenly pounces upon the reptile's head, and crunches it to pieces. I have 

 seen a mungoose eat up the head and poison glands of a large cobra, so the poison 

 must be harmless to the mucous membrane of the former animal. When excited, 

 the mungoose erects its long stiff hair, and it must be very difficult for a snake to 

 drive its fangs through this and through the thick skin which all kinds of Herpestes 

 possess. In all probability a mungoose is very rarely scratched by the fangs, and, 

 if he is, very little poison can be injected. It has been repeatedly proved by 

 experiments that a mungoose can be killed, like any other animal, if properly 

 bitten by a venomous snake, though even in this case the effects appear to be 

 produced after a longer period than with other mammals of the same size." 



In addition to being a benefactor to the human race as a destroyer of poisonous 

 snakes, the Indian mungoose (like its Egyptian cousin) is equally valuable as an 

 exterminator of rats ; ships having more than once been cleared of those pests in a 

 comparatively short period by the introduction of a mungoose. Rather more than 

 twenty years ago (1871) the sugar-planting industry in Jamaica was threatened 

 with annihilation from the damage inflicted on the canes by a particular species of 

 rat, which absolutely swarmed in the island. After ferrets, toads, and ants had 

 been tried with more or less ill -success to stay the plague, Mr. W. B. Espeut 

 bethought himself of introducing the Indian mungoose. Accordingly, in the spring 

 of 1872, nine of these animals were imported and let loose in the island. " Within 



