NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 
It must be carefully borne in mind that there 
are comparatively few of our animal friends which 
are not, under certain circumstances, harmful to 
us. The mungoose is a carnivorous animal, and 
whatever is good for food in its neighbourhood is 
commandeered. 
However, even when living in proximity to man, 
the mungoose, as a rule, does comparatively little 
mischief, for it is timid and shy, and has a whole- 
some dread of the human animal and his dogs. 
When pressed by hunger it becomes increasingly 
bold, and will, under cover of darkness, steal into 
the fowl roosts and play havoc with the poultry. 
The sportsman is an enemy to the mungoose for 
the reason that it preys at times on small game 
birds and game animals. From an economic point 
of view the sportsman’s grievance against the 
mungoose does not count for much. It is true 
most species. of game birds perform a service to 
man in devouring noxious insects and seeds of 
weeds, and the mungoose is one of the. natural 
enemies of these birds for the purpose of keeping 
them from multiplying unduly and becoming a 
plague to man, for most of the species of game 
birds also devour with avidity the seeds sown by 
the farmer, as well as his ripening corn, besides 
eating off the tender plants as they push their heads 
above ground. The hare, if allowed to unduly 
increase in numbers, would become a decided pest. 
It renders man no service at all. On the contrary, 
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