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{{short description|Species of mongoose from Asia}}
{{redirect|Indian mongoose|''Urva auropunctatus''|small Indian mongoose}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Indian grey mongoose
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{Cite iucn |title=''Herpestes edwardsii'' |name-list-style=amp |date=2016 |author=Mudappa, D. |author2=Choudhury, A. |article-number=e.T41611A45206787 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41611A45206787.en |access-date=17 February 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A3
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = <ref>{{cite Species+ |id=10277 |title=''Herpestes edwardsi'' (E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1818) |access-date=24 November 2025}}</ref>
| genus = Urva
| species = edwardsii
| image = Indian Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus)- is it- at Hyderabad, AP W 096.jpg
| image_caption = Adult in [[Hyderabad]]
| authority = ([[Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire|É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire]], 1818)
| range_map = Indian Gray Mongoose area.png
| range_map_caption = Indian grey mongoose range
| synonyms = ''Ichneumon edwardsii''<br />
''Herpestes edwardsii''
}}

The '''Indian grey mongoose''' or '''Asian grey mongoose''' ('''''Urva edwardsii''''') is a [[mongoose]] [[species]] native to the [[Indian subcontinent]] and [[West Asia]]. It is listed as [[least concern]] on the [[IUCN Red List]].<ref name=iucn/>

The grey mongoose inhabits open forests, [[scrubland]]s and cultivated fields, often close to human habitation. It lives in [[burrow]]s, hedgerows and thickets, among groves of trees, and takes shelter under rocks or bushes and even in drains. It is bold and inquisitive but wary, seldom venturing far from cover. It is an excellent climber and usually lives singly or in pairs. Its prey includes [[rodents]], [[snakes]], birds' eggs and hatchlings, [[lizards]] and a variety of [[invertebrates]]. Along the [[Chambal River]] it occasionally feeds on [[gharial]] eggs. It breeds throughout the year.

==Taxonomy==
''Ichneumon edwardsii'' was the [[scientific name]] proposed by [[Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire]] in 1817.<ref>{{cite book |author=Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, É. |year=1817 |chapter=De l'Ichneumon. ''Ichneumon pharaon'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/DescriptiondelEIIFranB/page/139 |pages=137–144 |volume=Tome II |title=Description de l'Égypte, ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'éxpédition de l'armée française |editor1=Jomard, E. F. |publisher=Commission des Sciences et Arts d'Egypte |location=Paris}}</ref> It was later classified in the genus ''[[Herpestes]]'', but all Asian mongooses are now classified in the genus ''[[Urva (genus)|Urva]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=ASM Mammal Diversity Database|url=https://www.mammaldiversity.org/index.html|access-date=2021-07-08|website=www.mammaldiversity.org|archive-date=2020-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028151443/https://www.mammaldiversity.org/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Subspecies:
* ''U. e. edwardsii''
* ''U. e. ferruginea''
* ''U. e. lanka''
* ''U. e. montana''
* ''U. e. nyula''

==Description==
The Indian grey mongoose has tawny grey or iron grey fur, which is more grizzled and stiffer and coarser than that of other mongooses. The ruddiness of the coat varies in different subspecies, but it described as appearing more grey than other mongooses. The grizzled appearance comes from the individual hairs being ringed by creamy-white and black. The legs are brown and darker than the body. The hair around the muzzle and eyes is also brown but with a stronger rusty red colouring. The tail is bushy, whilst the tip of the tail, if coloured, is pale yellow or white.<ref name="Sterndale">{{cite book |last=Sterndale |first= Robert A. |year=1884 |chapter=No. 236 Herpestes Pallidus vel Griseus The Common Grey Mungoose |title=Natural history of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/naturalhistoryof00ster#page/222/mode/2up |location=Calcutta |publisher=Thacker, Spink |author-link=Robert Armitage Sterndale}}</ref><ref name="Hussain">{{cite journal |last1=Hussain |first1=Riaz |last2=Mahmood |first2=Tariq |date=20 October 2016 |title=Comparative Ecology of Two Sympatric Mongoose Species (Herpestes javanicus and H. edwardsii) in Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan. |url=http://zsp.com.pk/pdf48/1931-1943%20(46)%20QPJZ-0593-F-%2028-09-2016.%20%20corrected%20page%20proof%203_Re-Revised%20MS%2016-09-2_.pdf |journal=Pakistan Journal of Zoology |volume=48 |issue=6 |pages=1931–1943 |access-date=2 January 2017 |archive-date=2017-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102080131/http://zsp.com.pk/pdf48/1931-1943%20(46)%20QPJZ-0593-F-%2028-09-2016.%20%20corrected%20page%20proof%203_Re-Revised%20MS%2016-09-2_.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Menon">{{cite book |last=Menon |first=Vivek |date=2014 |title=Indian Mammals: A Field Guide |location= Gurgaon|publisher=Hatchet Book Publishing India |isbn= 978-93-5009-761-8}}</ref>

Their tail length equals their body length. Body length: 36–45 cm (14-17 inches) Tail length: 45 cm (17 inches), weight: 0.9-1.7 kg (2-4 lb). Males are significantly larger than the females. Indian grey mongooses are unusual in that they can discriminate four colours, more than most other mammals.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ewer |first=R. F. |year= 1973|title=The carnivores |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |pages=124–125 |isbn=0-297-99564-2}}</ref>

== Distribution and habitat ==
It has been generally accepted that the Indian grey mongoose occurs in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, as represented by the distribution map.<ref name=iucn/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hinton |first1=H. E. |last2=Dunn |first2=A. M. S. |date=1967 |title= Mongooses. Their Natural History and Behaviour. |location=Los Angeles |publisher= University of California Press|page=117 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sharma |first1=Gaurav |last2= Kamalakannan|first2=M. |last3=Venkataraman |first3=K. |date=1 July 2015 |title=A checklist of mammals of India with their distribution and conservation status |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303971343 |location=Kolkata |publisher=Govt. of India}}</ref> A 2007 study found specimens also in Turkey, and United Arab Emirates, thus extending the known range.<ref>Veron, G., Patou, M.-L., Pothet, G., Simberloff, D. and Jennings, A.P. (2007). Systematic status and biogeography of the Javan and Small Indian Mongooses (Herpestidae, Carnivora). Zoologica Scripta 36: 1–10.</ref>

Despite being a common animal, the natural history of the Indian grey mongoose is not well known.<ref name=iucn/> They appear to be able to occupy a wide variety of habitats but preferring open types. These include grasslands, open areas, rocky patches, scrub, semi-desert, cultivated fields and other disturbed areas, areas of thickets, bushy vegetation, dry secondary forest, [[thorn forest]], forest edges, and also near human settlement.<ref name = Hussain/><ref name=Menon/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Duff |first1=Andrew |last2=Lawson |first2=Ann |date=2004 |title=Mammals of the World: A Checklist |location= New Haven and London|publisher=Yale University Press |page=117 |isbn= 0-300-10398-0 }}</ref> Although the creature has been described as being less dependent on human settlements, observations in India in heavily forested areas show it to be much more common around human settlements often scavenging on waste.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Shekhar |first=K. S. |date=October 2003 |title=The status of mongooses in central India. |url=http://nebula.wsimg.com/2f0168c5bd096cbc476716d95f262ec0?AccessKeyId=35E369A09ED705622D78&disposition=0&alloworigin=1 |journal=Small Carnivore Conservation |volume=29 |pages=22–24 |access-date=5 January 2017 |archive-date=5 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105083435/http://nebula.wsimg.com/2f0168c5bd096cbc476716d95f262ec0?AccessKeyId=35E369A09ED705622D78&disposition=0&alloworigin=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Ecology and behaviour==
The Indian grey mongoose is omnivorous, though most of its diet is made up from live prey it catches from being an opportunistic hunter, with mice, rats, lizards, snakes, and beetles making up the bulk. Also eaten are ground birds, their eggs, grasshoppers, scorpions, centipedes, frogs, crabs, fish, and parts of plants: fruits, berries, and roots, as well as larger prey including hares and egrets.<ref name="ADW">{{cite web |url=http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Herpestes_edwardsi/ |title=''Herpestes edwardsi'' Indian grey mongoose |last=Graham |first=E. |year=2004 |website=Animal Diversity Web |publisher=University of Michigan |access-date=23 December 2016 |archive-date=25 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125132742/http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Herpestes_edwardsi/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It kills prey by delivering a bite to the neck or head.

[[File:Indiangreymongoosesargeant.png|thumb|The illustration of Indian grey mongoose and [[cobra]]]]

This species is known for its ability to combat venomous snakes. It primarily achieves this through tiring the snake out, by enticing it to make multiple strikes which it acrobatically avoids.<ref name=Sterndale/><ref name=ADW/> Secondary protection against the venomous bite includes the stiff rigid hair, which is excited at such times; the thick loose skin; and specialised [[acetylcholine]] receptors, which render it resistant or immune to [[snake venom]].<ref>{{cite journal | title=How the Mongoose Defeats the Snake | journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | date=15 August 1992 | volume=89 | issue=16 | pages=7717–7721 | doi=10.1073/pnas.89.16.7717 | last1=Barchan | first1=D. | last2=Kachalsky | first2=S. | last3=Neumann | first3=D. | last4=Vogel | first4=Z. | last5=Ovadia | first5=M. | last6=Kochva | first6=E. | last7=Fuchs | first7=S. | doi-access=free | pmid=1380164 | pmc=49782 }}</ref> When dealing with scorpions, no measures are taken to disable the sting, and they are picked up in any manner.<ref name=Ewer/>

The Indian grey mongoose typically opens eggs by holding them between the paws and biting a hole in the little end.<ref name="Ewer">{{cite book |last=Ewer |first=R. F. |date= 1973|title=The carnivores |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |pages=198–200 |isbn=0-297-99564-2}}</ref> Smaller mongooses typically open eggs by throwing them between their legs against a hard object, so it has been speculated,<ref name=Ewer/> that the adult Indian grey mongoose should do likewise with large eggs.

[[File:Indian Mongoose pups.jpg|thumb|Inquisitive Indian grey mongoose pups at [[Lucknow Zoological Park]].]]

The Indian grey mongoose mates two to three times each year, between March and October. The gestation period lasts for 60 to 65 days; the female gives birth to two to four offspring.<ref name="ADW"/>

The lifespan of the Indian grey mongoose is seven years in the wild, or 12 years when in captivity.<ref name="ADW"/>

==Relation with humans==
The Indian grey mongoose is often kept as a pet to keep dwellings free from rats and other pests.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lal |first=Ranjit |date=20 September 2015 |title=Mongooses are fierce hunters as well as great pets |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/mongooses-are-fierce-hunters-as-well-as-great-pets/ |newspaper=[[The Indian Express]] |location=New Delhi |access-date=23 December 2016 |archive-date=23 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223134338/http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/mongooses-are-fierce-hunters-as-well-as-great-pets/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Indian grey mongoose is the [[List of Indian state animals|state animal]] of [[Chandigarh]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://chandigarh.gov.in/pdf/forest-state-abft.pdf |title=State Animal, Bird, Tree and Flower of Chandigarh |author= |website=Department of Forests & Wildlife |publisher=Chandigarh Administration |access-date=12 January 2017 |archive-date=22 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222184127/http://chandigarh.gov.in/pdf/forest-state-abft.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The species is protected in India, but an illegal trade in hair for the purposes of making of paint brushes and shaving brushes continues, and this is one of its most significant threats.<ref name=iucn/><ref>{{cite news |author= |title=Mongoose hair brushes worth over Rs 35 lakh seized |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/mongoose-hair-brushes-worth-over-rs-35l-seized/articleshow/60181473.cms |work=[[The Times of India]] |location=Kolkata |date=23 August 2017 |access-date=14 September 2017 |archive-date=31 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831211632/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/mongoose-hair-brushes-worth-over-rs-35l-seized/articleshow/60181473.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018 the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) seized 155 kg of raw mongoose hair, for which about 3000 mongoose had been killed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://m.hindustantimes.com/india-news/preying-on-mongoose-every-year-50-000-animals-are-killed-for-making-brushes/story-TOlUc20sWeYfkHrKeFYBxN.html |title=Preying on mongoose: Every year, 50,000 animals are killed for making brushes | india news | Hindustan Times |publisher=M.hindustantimes.com |date=2016-04-22 |access-date=2019-02-13 |archive-date=2023-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305083241/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/preying-on-mongoose-every-year-50-000-animals-are-killed-for-making-brushes/story-TOlUc20sWeYfkHrKeFYBxN.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Etymology==
The Indian grey mongoose is called {{lang|hi|muṅgūs}} or {{lang|hi|maṅgūs}} in classical [[Hindi]];<ref>{{cite book |author=Platts, J.T. |year=1884 |title=A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English |location=London |publisher=W. H. Allen & Co. |page=1081 |chapter=منگوس मुंगूस muṅgūs, or मंगूस maṅgūs. The Mongoose, or ichneumon, Viverra ichneumon |chapter-url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/platts_query.py?page=1081 |access-date=2020-07-29 |archive-date=2021-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130082956/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/platts_query.py?page=1081 |url-status=live }}</ref> {{lang|mr-Latn|muṅgūsa}} in [[Marathi language|Marathi]];<ref>{{cite book |author=Molesworth, J. T. |year=1857 |title=A dictionary, Marathi and English |edition=Second, revised and enlarged |location=Bombay |publisher=Printed for Government at the Bombay Education Society's Press |page=384 |chapter=मुंगूस muṅgūsa, Bengal Mungoose, ''Viverra Ichneumon'', or ''Herpesteus Griseus'' |chapter-url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/molesworth_query.py?page=384 |access-date=2020-07-29 |archive-date=2021-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130183559/https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/molesworth_query.py?page=384 }}</ref>
{{lang|te|mungi}} in [[Telugu language|Telugu]];<ref>{{cite book |author=Brown, C.P. |year=1903 |title=A Telugu-English dictionary |edition=New, thoroughly revised and brought up to date second |location=Madras |publisher=Promoting Christian Knowledge |page=997 |chapter=ముంగి or ముంగిస mungi. The ichneumon or mongoose, a kind of weasel. Viverra ichneumon |chapter-url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/brown_query.py?page=997 |access-date=2020-07-29 |archive-date=2020-10-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019230405/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/brown_query.py?page=997 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{lang|kn|mungi}}, {{lang|kn|mungisi}} and {{lang|kn|munguli}} in [[Kannada]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Reeve, W. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Sanderson, D. |year=1858 |title=A dictionary, Canarese and English |chapter=ಮುಂಗಿ, ಮುಂಗಿಸಿ, ಮುಂಗುಲಿ |publisher=Wesleyan Mission Press |location=Bangalore |edition=Revised, corrected and enlarged |page=787 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NycOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA787 |access-date=2020-07-29 |archive-date=2023-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305083241/https://books.google.com/books?id=NycOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA787 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
"[[Rikki-Tikki-Tavi]]" is a short story by [[Rudyard Kipling]] about the adventures of a valiant young Indian grey mongoose.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kipling, R. |year=1894 |title=The Jungle Books |chapter=Rikki-Tikki-Tavi |chapter-url=https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mongoose/rtt.html |publisher=Macmillan |place=London |access-date=2021-08-17 |archive-date=2021-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416044210/http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mongoose/rtt.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Carnivora|F.}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Herpestes edwardsii}}
{{Wikispecies|Herpestes edwardsii}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q123862361|from2=Q613760}}

[[Category:Urva (genus)]]
[[Category:Mammals of India]]
[[Category:Mammals of Nepal]]
[[Category:Mammals of Bhutan]]
[[Category:Mammals of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1818]]
[[Category:Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN]]

Indian grey mongoose - Revision history

Nxtleveledit at 16:54, 9 February 2026