Wildlifeof Nepal
Small Indian Mongoose
Civets, Linsangs & Mongooses
Photo: Jay Pruett · CC-BY
Urva auropunctata
Basic stats
Diet
Small mammals, ground-nesting birds, reptiles and eggs
Habitat
Up to 2,100m
Range
Iraq through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh to Myanmar
Size
Head and body 509–671mm
The small Indian mongoose has a slender body with an elongated head and pointed snout. It can be told from the often overlapping Indian grey mongoose by its somewhat smaller size. Head and body length is 509 to 671mm, and it lives at elevations up to 2,100m. Island populations have grown in size and in the difference between the sexes (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is native from Iraq and Iran through Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh to Myanmar, and has been introduced to Caribbean and Pacific islands, where it preys on ground-nesting birds, reptiles and small mammals and has caused serious harm to native species. That introduced-range history is general to the species; the sources opened here say little about its behaviour in Nepal.
Quick answers
- What does the Small Indian Mongoose eat?
- Small mammals, ground-nesting birds, reptiles and eggs
- What habitat does the Small Indian Mongoose live in?
- Up to 2,100m
- Where is the Small Indian Mongoose found?
- Iraq through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh to Myanmar
- How big is the Small Indian Mongoose?
- Head and body 509–671mm