78 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
he was let loose would eagerly jump down into 
the room, when his behaviour became very 
curious and interesting. He would instantly 
see where the snake was, and rounding his 
back, and making every hair on his body stand 
out at right angles, which made his body ap- 
pear twice as large as it really was, he would 
approach the cobra on tiptoe, making a 
peculiar humming noise. The snake, in the 
meantime, would show signs of great anxiety, 
and I fancy of fear, erecting his head and 
; hood ready to strike when his enemy came 
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.] ; [North Finchley near enough. The mongoose kept running 
TWO-SPOTTED PALM-CIVET backwards and forwards in front of the snake, 
OS fe rprect te palmeinen in the Dak bang @vadually getting to within what appeared to 
us to be striking distance. The snake would 
strike at him repeatedly, and appeared to hit him, but the mongoose continued his comic dance, 
apparently unconcerned. Suddenly, and with a movement so rapid that the eye could not 
follow it, he would pin the cobra by the back of the head. One could hear the sharp teeth 
crunch into the skull, and, when all was over, see the mongoose eating the snake’s head and 
part of his body with great gusto. Our little favourite killed a great many cobras, and, so far as 
I can see, never was bitten. 
The Ecyptian Moncoose, or IcHNEUMON, hasan equally great reputation for eating the 
eggs of the crocodile; and the Karrir Moncoosg, a rather larger South African species, is kept 
as a domestic animal to kill rats, mice, and snakes, of which, like the Indian kind, it is a deadly foe. 
There are more than twenty other species, most of much the same appearance and habits. 
The smooth-nosed mongoose tribe are closely allied creatures in South Africa, mainly bur- 
rowing animals, feeding both on flesh and fruit. The Cusimanses of Abyssinia and West Africa 
are also allied to them. Their habits are identical with the above. 
THe MEERKATS, OR SURICATES ' 
Most people who have read Frank Buckland’s Life will remember the suricate which was his 
chief pet in Albany Street. The 
SuricaTEs, or MEERKaTS, burrow all 
over the South African veldt, espe- 
cially in the sandy parts, where they 
sit up outside their holes like prairie- 
dogs, and are seen by day. They 
are sociable animals, and make most 
amusing pets. A full-grown one is 
not much larger than a hedgehog, 
but more slender. It barks like a 
prairie-dog, and has many other noises 
of pleasure or anger. A lady, the 
owner of one, writes in Country Life: 
“Tt gets on well with the dogs and 
cats, especially the latter, as they are [7 Pe 
more friendly to her, and allow her to Photo by L, Medland, F.Z.8. 
sleep by their side and on the top of MASKED PALM-CIVET 
them. One old cat brings small birds A whole-coloured species of the group 
oe 
(North Finchle 
