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Brown mongoose Herpestes fuscus Waterhouse, 1838

Distribution

The brown mongoose is found in the forests of the south Indian hill ranges at 900-1850 m altitude particularly from Virajpet in south Coorg and Ooty in the Nilgiri hills, Tiger Shola in the Palni hills, High Wavy Mountains in Madurai, and Peeramedu in Kerala (Pocock 1939, Prater 1971, Corbet & Hill 1992, Mudappa 1998). Outside India it occurs in Sri Lanka (Phillips 1984).

Description

On an average the brown mongoose is little larger than the grey mongoose and more uniformly dark brown above and especially below. It is heavily built with a relatively shorter tail which is only about two-thirds the length of the head and body. The dark brown pelage is often more or less speckled with yellow or tawny colour. The contour hair are less harsh and the upper half or third of the soles of the hind feet are covered with hair throughout the year. The length of the head and body is around 500 mm, tail 300 mm and weight about 2.7 kg (Phillips 1984).

Five subspecies are reported, one subspecies H. fuscus fuscus Waterhouse, 1858 from India, and the rest i.e. H. fuscus flavidense Kelaart, 1850, H. fuscus rubidior Pocock 1937, H. fuscus maccarthiae Gray, 1851 and H. fuscus siccatus Thomas, 1924 from Sri Lanka (Pocock 1941, Phillips 1984). There are great variations in the coat colours and sizes among individuals and in all the subspecies.

Behaviour

Being rare, very little is known about this species. In Nilgiri hills it inhabits dense forests up to an altitude of 1850 m. Like its cousin H. f. flavidense in Sri Lanka it is commonly found around coffee and tea plantations. In its activity it appears to be more nocturnal, but is also seen during crepuscular hours. It is believed to breed in burrows, beneath rocks and tree roots, and the litter size is around three to four.

Conservation status

It is listed in Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Appendix III of CITES and VU, B1 2abc during the CAMP Workshop.

| Introduction | Mustelids | Viverrids | Herpestids | 
| Conservation Significance | References |