---
title: "What the sources say about the Egyptian Mongoose | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "41 claims from the Egyptian Mongoose profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Egyptian Mongoose (*Herpestes ichneumon*)

> 41 claims from the Egyptian Mongoose profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Egyptian Mongoose](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/egyptian-mongoose/)

## Herpestes ichneumon (Egyptian mongoose). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Herpestes_ichneumon/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The Egyptian mongoose, which Animal Diversity Web also calls the ichneumon, has a reputation for snake killing | Ichneumons have a reputation for snake killing. |
| Facing a snake, it can predict and dodge the strike, then catch the snake's head before another strike comes | Egyptian Mongooses have the ability to predict and dodge the strike of a snake attack and then catch the snakes head before another strike |
| If excited, it can bristle its hair and arch its back to appear twice its actual size | If excited, H. ichneumon can bristle its hair and arch its back to appear two times its actual size. |
| erecting its hair on the attack is thought to confuse the snake | they erect all the hair on their bodies when on the attack. This is thought to confuse the reptile |
| Animal Diversity Web says the common belief that mongooses are immune to snake poisons "is not so" | It is commonly believed that mongooses are immune to snake poisons, but this is not so. |
| A body 48 to 60 centimetres long trails a bushy tail that ends in a black tassel and runs another 33 to 54 centimetres | the long, bushy tail, which ends in a black tassel ... The body length is 48 to 60 cm with the tail measuring 33 to 54 cm. |
| a long, low-slung form that appears reptilian from a distance | They have a long, low-slung form which appears reptilian from a distance. |
| It weighs 1.7 to 4 kilograms | Range mass 1.7 to 4 kg |
| Each short leg carries five digits, and the front claws are sharp and curved for digging | short legs with five digits on each limb ... foreclaws that are sharp and curved for digging |
| A narrow strip of bare skin rings each eye | A narrow, naked strip of skin surrounds the eyes. |
| its 35 to 40 teeth include carnassials well developed for shearing flesh | These animals have 35 to 40 teeth of which the carnassal are well developed for sheering flesh. |
| A two-year study in Spain's Doñana National Park found average group sizes of anywhere from one to seven, with adults seen alone or in pairs all year and food the main pressure preventing large, stable groups | A two year study of Egyptian mongooses in Donana National Park found the average group size to be anywhere from one to seven. Adults were spotted in pairs or living alone all year long. Environmental pressures, mainly food, prevented large stable groups. |
| When one mongoose follows another, it keeps its nose on the leader's anus for orientation, a habit that starts when the young follow their mothers closely | when one animal follows another, it has its nose on the anus of the leader for orientation. This behavior originates when young mongooses closely follow their mothers. |
| Scent marks from the same anal glands could signal a female's readiness to breed or mark an individual or a pack | Scent markings with these same anal glands could communicate a female's estrous condition and/or act as a marker for an individual or a pack. |
| Its diet runs from invertebrates, fish and amphibians to reptiles, birds and mammals, with fruit now and then | Meals consist of invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Sometimes, H. ichneumon even dines on fruit. |
| Eggs are a favored delicacy, and Animal Diversity Web says mongooses crack them by throwing them through their hind legs against something hard, like a rock or wall | Eggs are a favored delicacy ... Mongooses have an interesting way of eating eggs: they throw them through their hind legs against something hard like a rock or wall. |
| Animal Diversity Web says Egyptian mongooses appear in Egyptian paintings going back to around 300 B.C. | Egyptian mongooses have been immortalized in Egyptian paintings going back to around 300 B.C. |
| It says the animal was known as the "Pharaoh's Cat" and considered holy, housed in temples and set against snakes in arenas | It was known as the "Pharaoh's Cat" and was considered a holy animal. They were housed in temples and were put as gladiators in arenas to dual with snakes. |
| Skulls have been found in tombs, and mummified remains have been discovered | Skulls of these animals were found in tombs and also mummified remains have been discovered. |
| Ground burrows, rock crevices, and trees near water across most of
    Africa, Spain, Portugal, and Israel, plus farmland and canal banks | Herpestes ichneumon is distributed in Spain, Portugal, Israel, and most of Africa except for central Zaire, the West African lowland forests and southeastern South Africa ... Egyptian mongooses are ground inhabitants who prefer regions with trees near water. They hide and find shelter in burrows, hollow logs or trees, holes in the ground, and rock crevices ... Today their habitat also includes cultivated fields and vegetated canal banks. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, eggs, and sometimes fruit | Meals consist of invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Sometimes, H. ichneumon even dines on fruit. Eggs are a favored delicacy. (note: stats.diet) |
| Predicts and dodges a snake's strike, then catches its head before another strike | Egyptian Mongooses have the ability to predict and dodge the strike of a snake attack and then catch the snakes head before another strike (note: stats.superpower) |
| A snake-killer that dodges the strike on reflex | Egyptian Mongooses have the ability to predict and dodge the strike of a snake attack (note: tagline) |
| Animal Diversity Web says the species got its scientific name because it was believed to track down crocodile eggs, but whether that is true "is still unknown." | The Egyptian mongooses came by their scientific name because the animal was believed to track down crocodile eggs. Whether or not that is true is still unknown. (note: FAQ 1) |
| Animal Diversity Web says it has been described as everything from solitary to living in pairs to hunting in packs. Some scientists say it has an active social life, but the page says there is "little documentation" for that. | It is said to be everything from a solitary creature to living in pairs to tending to hunt in pacts. Some scientists say they have active social lives but there is little documentation for this. (note: FAQ 3) |
| Animal Diversity Web records that they enter water quickly and swim well, and that they also like to bask in the morning sun. | They will quickly enter water and swim well. They love to bask in the morning sun. (note: FAQ 4) |
| Facing a snake, an Egyptian mongoose predicts and dodges the strike, then catches the head before another strike comes | Egyptian Mongooses have the ability to predict and dodge the strike of a snake attack and then catch the snakes head before another strike |
| dangerLevel: Low | is capable of killing harmless birds and mammals and other desirable wildlife. This has lead to the extinction and endangerment of some species. They are also a serious pest to chicken farmers. |

## Herpestes ichneumon. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Herpestes_ichneumon

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The ageing database AnAge says it may live up to 12 years in the wild | In the wild, these animals may live up to 12 years |
| Its maximum lifespan has not been pinned down. One captive animal was reported to live over 20 years, but AnAge calls that dubious because no other captive animal lived more than 12.8 years, and says further studies are needed. | There are reports of one captive animal living over 20 years [ 0434 ], which is dubious as no other captive animal lived more than 12.8 years [ 0671 ]. Further studies are necessary to establish the maximum longevity of this species. (note: FAQ 2; 'because' renders AnAge's 'which is dubious as') |
| weightKg: 2.2 | Adult weight 2,200 g |

## Borralho et al. (1996). The distribution of the Egyptian Mongoose Herpestes ichneumon (L.) in Portugal. Mammal Review.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2907.1996.tb00143.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In Portugal, a study published in 1996 found its northern limit had extended well beyond the Tagus River across most of its Portuguese range, indicating a probable expansion in the years before | The present northern limit of its distribution has extended well beyond the Tagus River in most of its Portuguese range, indicating a probable expansion in recent years. (note: 1996 is the reference's publication year (Borralho et al. 1996); 'in the years before' renders the abstract's 'in recent years', dated to the study) |

## Gaubert et al. (2025). Herpestes ichneumon. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T41613A278643105.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-1.rlts.t41613a278643105.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Today the IUCN lists the species as Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC).
Herpestes ichneumon (Linnaeus, 1758), IUCN taxon 41613. (note: Category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List (iucnredlist.org refuses scripts), taxon id 41613 checked against the one inside the assessment DOI 10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-1.rlts.t41613a278643105.en) |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC).
Herpestes ichneumon (Linnaeus, 1758), IUCN taxon 41613. (note: stats.conservationStatus; same GBIF check as the body's status sentence) |

## Jansa & Voss (2011). Adaptive Evolution of the Venom-Targeted vWF Protein in Opossums that Eat Pitvipers. PLoS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020997

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| this species is resistant to α-bungarotoxin, a neurotoxin found in cobra venom | mongooses ( Herpestes ichneumon ) and hedgehogs ( Erinaceus europaeus ) ... resistant to α-bungarotoxin, a nonenzymatic neurotoxin found in cobra venom |
| snake venoms typically contain dozens | Because snake venoms typically contain dozens of toxic compounds |
| resists α-bungarotoxin, one of cobra venom's neurotoxins | mongooses ( Herpestes ichneumon ) and hedgehogs ( Erinaceus europaeus ) ... resistant to α-bungarotoxin, a nonenzymatic neurotoxin found in cobra venom (note: stats.superpower) |
| carries a receptor that resists one of the nerve toxins in cobra venom | nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) in snakes and in two snake-eating Old World mammals ... mongooses ( Herpestes ichneumon ) ... resistant to α-bungarotoxin, a nonenzymatic neurotoxin found in cobra venom (note: tagline) |
| tags: immune-tank | mongooses ( Herpestes ichneumon ) and hedgehogs ( Erinaceus europaeus ) ... resistant to α-bungarotoxin, a nonenzymatic neurotoxin found in cobra venom |

## Chandrasekara et al. (2024). High-Voltage Toxin’Roll: Electrostatic Charge Repulsion as a Dynamic Venom Resistance Trait in Pythonid Snakes. Toxins.

https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins16040176

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In this mongoose the receptor that cobra neurotoxins latch onto carries a sugar group that gets in the toxin's way | α-neurotoxin resistance is accomplished by target modification, attributed to either steric hindrance or electrostatic charge repulsion mechanisms ... The earliest recognized example of steric hindrance, N-glycosylation, was detected in the Egyptian Mongoose ( Herpestes ichneumon ), a predator of certain cobras ... This trait was later identified as a basal trait of the mongoose/meerkat family (Herpestidae) (note: blockquote; N-glycosylation attaches a sugar (glycan) to the receptor's binding site, the steric hindrance the paper names) |
| It was the earliest recognized example of that defence, and it was later identified as an ancestral trait of the mongoose and meerkat family. | α-neurotoxin resistance is accomplished by target modification, attributed to either steric hindrance or electrostatic charge repulsion mechanisms ... The earliest recognized example of steric hindrance, N-glycosylation, was detected in the Egyptian Mongoose ( Herpestes ichneumon ), a predator of certain cobras ... This trait was later identified as a basal trait of the mongoose/meerkat family (Herpestidae) (note: 'ancestral' renders the source's 'basal') |