Harman Patil (Editor)

Ruddy mongoose

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Kingdom
  
Order
  
Subfamily
  
Herpestinae

Scientific name
  
Herpestes smithii

Rank
  
Species

Phylum
  
Chordata

Family
  
Herpestidae

Genus
  
Herpestes

Higher classification
  
Herpestes

Ruddy mongoose Gary Thoburns Photography Carnivores Ruddy Mongoose

Similar
  
Indian brown mongoose, Stripe‑necked mongoose, Short‑tailed mongoose, Cape gray mongoose, Mongoose

Ruddy mongoose


The ruddy mongoose (Herpestes smithii) is a species of mongoose found in hill forests of peninsular India and Sri Lanka. This mongoose along with the striped-necked mongoose are the only mongoose species endemic to India and Sri Lanka.

Contents

Ruddy mongoose Ruddy Mongoose Picture of Leopard Trails Camp Sri Lanka Yala

The ruddy mongoose is a very closely related to Indian grey mongoose, but distinguished by its slightly larger size and black tipped tail extending for 2 to 3 inches at the distal end. There are two sub-species of this mongoose, H. smithii smithii in India, and H. smithii zeylanicus (Thomas, 1852) in Sri Lanka.

Ruddy mongoose Mangouste rousstre Herpestes smithii Ruddy Mongoose Flickr

The ruddy mongoose is mainly a forest living animal in contrast to the grey and small Indian mongooses and prefers more secluded areas. They have also been recorded from secluded paddy fields and in comparatively open fields. Like other mongooses, it hunts by day and by night.

Ruddy mongoose Scanbird galleriesTravelSri Lanka 2013Ruddy Mongoose201311290089

Ruddy mongoose herpestes smithii


In Culture

Ruddy mongoose Minden Pictures stock photos Ruddy mongoose Herpestes smithii

In Sri Lanka this animal is called mugatiya by the Sinhala speaking community. Usually regarded as an unlikable animal and a pest. The golden palm civet (Paradoxurus zeylonensis), altogether a different species endemic to Sri Lanka, is also called hotambuwa due to similar appearance and coloration.

Ruddy mongoose httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

References

Ruddy mongoose Wikipedia