Order: Carnivora

Family: Herpestidae

 

Size: up to 72-83 cm in length (head to tail).

Weight: - 0.95-1.85 kg.

 

Key Features: It is a very closely related to Indian grey mongoose, but distinguished by its slightly larger size and black tipped tail.

 

Diet: feed on rodents, lizards, snakes and carrion. 

 

Habitat: can be found in the hill forests of India and Sri Lanka. 

 

Conservation Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

 

Distribution in the GoK: reported along the coast of Gulf of Kachchh.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

IUCN Red List. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41617/0

 

Herpestes smithii smithiii. In the Animal Files, Retrieved on July 15, 2014 from http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/carnivores/mongoose_ruddy.html

 

Photo Courtesy

ChrisHodges, Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons