Mongooses also have been utilized by people to kill household pests like rats, and, being easily domesticated, they are often kept as pets.
Some species of mongoose can be easily domesticated, are fairly intelligent, and can be taught simple tricks, so they are often kept as pets to protect home from vermin.
Some species, such as the Indian mongoose, are popularly used to fight and kill venomous snakes, even king cobras.
The mongooses belong to one of four families of terrestrial cat-like mammals descended from the viverravines, which were civet/genet-like mammals.
Mongooses are small carnivores, ranging from around 23 centimeters to 75 centimeters, with a weight from less than 1 kilogram to around 5 or 6 kilograms (Myers 2000).
Mongooses have long faces and bodies, small rounded ears, short legs, and long tapering tails.
Some species of mongooses will usually lead solitary lives, seeking out food only for themselves, while others travel in groups, known as mongaggles.
Mongooses are popularly known, particularly because some have a noted ability to kill venomous snakes.
The mongoose emits a high-pitched noise, commonly known as giggling, when it mates.
Monkeys and humans are so similar in anatomy and genetics that they are popularly studied to try and understand more about human physiology, health, and even behavior.
Less diverse than the viverrids, the 30 species and 11 genera of mongooses are assigned to only two subfamilies.
Research is being done to determine if similar mechanisms protect the mongoose from snake hemotoxic venoms (Hedges 1997).
The Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) is sometimes held as an example of a solitary mongoose, though they have been observed to work in groups also (Bies 2002).
Mainly African, mongooses also are widely distributed in Asia, the Caribbean, and southern Europe.
The front paws of mongooses look more like hands, similar to a raccoon, whereas those of viverrids are more like cats (Postanowicz 2007).
In ancient Egypt, according to the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (1.35 and 1.87), native mongooses (Herpestes ichneumon) were venerated for their ability to handle venomous snakes and for their occasional diet of crocodile eggs.
Mongooses were introduced to Hawaii in 1883, and have had a significant impact on native species (Adamski 2004).
The subfamily Herpestinae comprises 30 species of African and Asian mongooses, including the Cape gray mongoose, the Egyptian mongoose, and the meerkat or suricate.
Mongooses are placed in the suborder Feliformia, and together with the hyenas (family Hyaenidae) and Malagasy carnivores (Eupleridae) are placed in the superfamily Herpestoidea.
Mongooses are members of Carnivora, an order of placental animals that includes such familiar groups as bears, foxes, cats, hyenas, skunks, otters, raccoons, and so forth.
Mongooses mostly feed on insects, crabs, earthworms, lizards, snakes, chickens, and rodents.
The mongoose family is a close evolutionary relation of the family Viverridae and mongooses are sometimes classified as members of this family.
In ancient Egypt, according to the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (1.35 and 1.87), native mongooses (Herpestes ichneumon) were venerated for their ability to handle venomous snakes and for their occasional diet of crocodile eggs.
Mongooses mostly feed on insects, crabs, earthworms, lizards, birds, and rodents. However, they also eat eggs and carrion. The Indian gray mongoose and others are well known for their ability to fight and kill venomous snakes, particularly cobras.