But how can it be that a skinny mongoose can take on one of the most venomous snakes in the world — like the hulking king cobra Ophiophagus hannah , whose venom can kill an adult human in around 30 minutes? For starters, mongooses are quick and agile, and have strong jaws and thick hides to block those scary cobra fangs. They also don't mind rushing a cobra, which is, in spite of its size and extravagantly toxic venom, actually very shy and uninterested in tangling with anybody.
Combative humans and mongooses are at the very top of a king cobra's "Avoid" list. But then chemistry gets involved. It's not impossible for a mongoose to get sick or even die from a cobra bite, but mongooses make a glycoprotein that binds to the protein in the venom so a moderate amount of snake venom won't hurt them. Fascinating creatures, mongooses. However, if you live in the United States, you definitely can't have one as a pet — they are prohibited animals in every state except Hawaii, where they are considered a dangerous invasive species.
In the s, a family on the Isle of Man claimed a talking mongoose named Gef lived in their walls, by turns threatening them, protecting them, killing rabbits for their dinner and telling them jokes. The story became a tabloid sensation. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Fuchs is now looking at other snake toxins to see if mongooses and snakes are protected from their effects by similar mechanisms.
She believes that this work, and the neurotoxin research, could eventually lead to the production of new anti-venom drugs that would use the active parts of mongoose or snake receptor molecules and be more effective and safer to use than current drugs.
The receptors seem to have changed their structures under evolutionary pressure. Trending Latest Video Free. However, the mongooses preferred the native and endangered bird and turtle population to the rats and have become a real problem in Hawaii. However, they tend to average from about cm in long. Mongooses can reach a top speed of roughly 20 mph 32 kph. Mongooses are not really carnivores, they are omnivores they eat both vegetation and meat. They mainly feed on insects, with snakes being a favorite treat.
They also eat frogs, seeds, eggs, nuts, worms, small rodents, lizards, birds, crabs, and fruit. They prefer to stay on the ground but can climb trees if they need to, and some even live in trees. Here is an amazing video of one small mongoose scaring off 4 large lions; and you know that I will never click-bait you ;.
I hope you have enjoyed learning about mongooses! Did I answer all your questions? Which fact was your favorite? Have something to add? Let me know in the comments! What animal would you like me to cover? Let me know in the comments and check out some other awesome animals like the narwhal and ocean sunfish! Drew Haines is an animal enthusiast and travel writer.
She loves to share her passion through her writing. She graduated high school at sixteen and started her own business, Everywhere Wild Media. And she runs Everywhere Wild and JustBirding. She also guest blogs on Storyteller. She lived in Ecuador for 6 years and explored the Galapagos Islands.
Currently based in N. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Hi Thank you for the article. We've got mongooses living in our roof Since recently What should we do? A mongoose just killed one of our chickens. Is it still save to eat the chicken or to dangerous due to deseases? Thank you for your answer. I have been rescuing snakes from human habitats for many years and so am a bit partial towards them.
This had led me to slightly dislike mongooses in general. However reading this has made me see them in a new light. I do not now feel any dislike for this brave little animal.
I just saw a TV program about the African hyena which said that the hyena is related to the mongoose and not to dogs. Hello thank you for the article. We now know a lot more about the mongeese my prefered plural haha. Can we once more make use of your great expertise? You say you cant have mongees. Table of Contents.
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