Small Indian mongoose, Javan mongoose
The Javan mongoose (Urva javanica ) is a mongoose species native to Southeast Asia.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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BurrowingA burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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Generally solitaryGenerally solitary animals are those animals that spend their time separately but will gather at foraging areas or sleep in the same location or sh...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe Small Asian mongoose lives in South Asia and Southeast Asia and shares the same geographical area as the Indian gray mongoose for much of its range. It is easily distinguished from the other, as it is much smaller. It has a slender body with an elongated head and pointed snout. Their feet have five toes and long claws. The male has a wider head and is bigger.
This species inhabits most of mainland Asia in the south, from Iraq to China, and also the island of Java. This mongoose has also been released on dozens of Pacific and Caribbean islands (including Saint Lucia, Puerto Rico and Jamaica), as well as several in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean and mainland Venezuela. These animals live in dry forest and scrublands, and, on Pacific Islands, in rainforests. They are able to live among fairly well-populated human areas.
Small Asian mongooses are totally diurnal. In captivity, the adults participate in many play activities and games of curiosity. Captive animals of both genders have been observed carrying out mutual grooming, but in the wild this has only been between a mother and her offspring. Considered a solitary species, males sometimes form social groups and share burrows, during the breeding season, at least. These animals engage in behavior for either body warming or body cooling. Warming happens in the early morning by exposing the underparts to the sun as much as possible. In hot sun they usually stop being active before panting. If it is too hot they look for shade and lie on their stomachs on a cool surface, sometimes scratching away a warm surface in the soil before lying down.
Small Asian mongooses are carnivore (insectivores), they eat mostly insects, but, being opportunistic feeders will also eat crabs, frogs, scorpions, spiders, snakes, small mammals, birds and birds’ eggs.
Very little is known about the reproductive behavior of small Asian mongooses. These animals breed during the summer, and gestation lasts approximately 49 days. 1 to 5 babies are born. Males become mature at about 122 days old and females at about 301 days old.
There are currently no known major threats to this species. However, their numbers are likely to be restrained in Vietnam and Lao PDR by very heavy hunting in areas populated by people, but, despite that, they are still sometimes seen in the suburbs of large towns. People in the agricultural areas of Thailand also hunt them.
No estimate of population size is available for this species, but it is evidently large across its range. Currently this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List with unknown population trend.
Being insectivorous, these animals may affect insect populations in their range.
