mongoose

[ mong-goos, mon- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural mon·goos·es.

a slender, ferretlike carnivore, Herpestes edwardsi, of India, that feeds on rodents, birds, and eggs, noted especially for its ability to kill cobras and other venomous snakes.
any of several other animals of this genus or related genera.

mongoose

/ ˈmɒŋˌɡuːs /

any small predatory viverrine mammal of the genus Herpestes and related genera, occurring in Africa and from S Europe to SE Asia, typically having a long tail and brindled coat

1690–1700; < Marathi mangūs, variant of muṅgūs

C17: from Marathi mangūs, of Dravidian origin

When it comes to mating, the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) likes to keep things in the family.

So, why would a species like the banded mongoose favor breeding between relatives?

Hope that an accentuated mongoose-step movement may crush the new enemy.

Under the hedge of a garden somebody's tame mongoose is devouring the head of a cobra.

Then the mongoose crunches up its head, eats a little of the body also if it is very hungry, and goes off to look for another.

The first of these is the Indian mongoose, which is common in almost all parts of the great country from which it takes its name.

The Egyptian mongoose is a rather larger animal, being about three feet in length from the head to the tip of the tail.

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