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mongoose

LoriSue
(@LoriSue)
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I think I saw my first mongoose. I was sitting in my chair on the outside patio area and he zipped across the sand about 5 feet in front of me. He must not have been very timid. I didn't think they would come that close to people. Are they usually that unafraid of people?

 
Posted : October 9, 2009 11:50 pm
(@billd)
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they are very private animals. You see them darting across the roads, sometimes they don't make it. They look like a long squirrel!

billd

 
Posted : October 10, 2009 11:47 am
LoriSue
(@LoriSue)
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It did look like a big squirrel!! I thought it was kind of cute.....he/she was right in front of me and I was surprised that it came so close. It won't try to get me will it?

 
Posted : October 10, 2009 12:03 pm
Trade
(@Trade)
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No, they're harmless to people. They'll run away.

 
Posted : October 10, 2009 1:09 pm
(@SkysTheLimit)
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LOL
I knew a family with a young son who thought they were cute and they started feeding them out of a bowl in the yard. After several months one turned into a pack. Soon after they were actually coming into the house and or hanging on the screens as if to say " Hey! Our bowl is empty out here!" I don't suggest feeding them!!
I also saw someone that seemed to have a tame one that he walked around with. Said he "saved" it as a baby and it became tame.

 
Posted : October 10, 2009 2:19 pm
antiqueone
(@antiqueone)
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Remember: mongooses kill cobras. Haven't seen any cobras around, have you?

 
Posted : October 10, 2009 6:03 pm
(@pamela)
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Like squirrels without tails.

Pamela

 
Posted : October 10, 2009 6:08 pm
LoriSue
(@LoriSue)
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LOL....no cobras that I have seen....LOL...and trust me, if I see one the whole island will know about it...I do not like snakes and have a tendency to scream very LOUD.

I don't think I will be feeding him. I think he will do fine on his own. It costs enough to feed my husband, I don't want to add to our island expense! LOL

 
Posted : October 10, 2009 6:19 pm
(@terry)
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There was the Mongoose Rescue lady at Cane Bay a couple of weeks ago with her pet Mongoose. She raised it from a baby. She said that Game and Wildlife contact her if they have abandoned or injured Mongeese ( Mongooses???).
Very cute.

 
Posted : October 10, 2009 9:20 pm
Exit Zero
(@exit-zero)
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Mongeese?? You must know the plural is Mongoose Dem.

 
Posted : October 10, 2009 10:04 pm
(@aussie)
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I think there's still a bounty on the books (in the VI Code?) for the little varmints. Not sure if the program is still active.

Cute little buggers.

 
Posted : October 10, 2009 10:39 pm
 HBIC
(@HBIC)
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They attack and brutally kill full grown chickens, puppies, kittens, baby goats; very vicious little things.

 
Posted : October 11, 2009 11:05 am
Novanut
(@novanut)
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I have a yapper across the street I'd like to introduce them to LOL

 
Posted : October 11, 2009 11:13 am
(@Linda_J)
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The law of the jungle - everybody has to eat! I do find it difficult to visualize a mongoose attacking a goat, no matter what size.

 
Posted : October 11, 2009 12:51 pm
 HBIC
(@HBIC)
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Sorry, I wasn't clear--it's several ,not just one.

 
Posted : October 11, 2009 2:30 pm
 DUN
(@DUN)
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Another possible plural, mongee!
No, I`m NOT looking it up, just having fun!
It`s Sunday, my day off:@)

 
Posted : October 11, 2009 2:35 pm
(@DixieChick)
Posts: 1495
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i just wish the mongoose would stay away from my chicken eggs. they sneak into the yard and get them as soon as they are laid.

i have heard they are ok until cornered. then they can be visious and very territorial. don't think i want one as a pet....

besides keeping snakes away wonder what their purpose is?? on the islands anyway.

 
Posted : October 13, 2009 6:46 pm
Trade
(@Trade)
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Who knew? They giggle when they mate. From Wikipedia:

Mongooses live in southern Asia, Africa, and southern Europe, as well as some Caribbean and Hawaiian islands, where they are introduced species. There are more than thirty species, ranging from one to four feet in length. Some species of mongoose lead predominantly solitary lives, seeking out food only for themselves, while others travel in groups, sharing food among the members of the group. Mongooses mostly feed on insects, crabs, earthworms, lizards, snakes, chickens, and rodents. However, they also eat eggs and carrion. Some species, such as the Indian Mongoose, are popularly used to fight and kill venomous snakes, including King Cobras. They are capable of doing this because of their agility and cunning, and their thick coat, but typically avoid the cobra and have no particular affinity for consuming its meat.[4] Mongoose range in size from the squirrel-sized Common Dwarf Mongoose, at 280 g (9.9 oz), to the cat-sized White-tailed Mongoose, at 4 kg (8.8 lb).

Some species of mongoose are quite intelligent and can be taught simple tricks, which has led to a number of them being domesticated, often kept as pets to control vermin. However, they can be more destructive than desired: when imported into the West Indies to kill rats and snakes, they destroyed most of the small, ground-based fauna. For this reason, it is illegal to import most species of mongoose into the United States,[5] Australia, and other countries. Mongooses were introduced to Hawaii in 1883, and have had a significant effect on native species.[6]

The mongoose emits a high pitched noise, commonly known as giggling, when it mates. The giggling is also a form of courtship when this animal is choosing a mate.[7]

 
Posted : October 13, 2009 7:50 pm
LoriSue
(@LoriSue)
Posts: 101
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Trade,

The mongoose emits a high pitched noise, commonly known as giggling, when it mates. The giggling is also a form of courtship when this animal is choosing a mate.[7]

Thats funny....

I saw a second one...this one was smaller than the first. It ran in front of my chair also, just like the first. I may have my beach chair set up on the mongoose highway....maybe I should move back further it sure puts a startle in me. Those guys are fast. Both of them ran in front of me not 5 feet away. They apparently don't give a rip that I am sitting there, it is broad daylight when they go by. I wonder what kind of tricks you can teach them....LOL.....go to the fridge and get me drink?

 
Posted : October 13, 2009 8:35 pm
(@DixieChick)
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they eat chickens???!!!:-o

 
Posted : October 14, 2009 1:37 pm
(@terry)
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They say it tastes just like snake.:@)

 
Posted : October 14, 2009 2:29 pm
(@dougtamjj)
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Dixie, the mongoose dem just discovered our eggs. They haven't hurt the chickens but the chickens start making a lot of noise when the mongoose come in the yard.

 
Posted : October 14, 2009 3:25 pm
(@DixieChick)
Posts: 1495
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tam: i have tried everything i know to keep mongoose away from chicken eggs. even rubbed an egg with the hottest sauce i could find, put egg back in chick nest and the darn mongoose still took the egg.

you have any ideas???

 
Posted : October 14, 2009 7:12 pm
(@dougtamjj)
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Dixie, my chickens solved the problem. I had one chicken who liked to lay her eggs on a platform under our carport. It is suspended from the ceiling so no mongoose can climb up there. Now 3 of the chickens are laying their eggs up there after two weeks of having mongoose steal their eggs. Hubby left the door to our pump room open the other night and one of the chickens is laying her eggs there. The mongoose hasn't found that spot yet. My other solution was to pen them up again, which I hate to do. We have a very large outdoor kennel that we used to use for the dogs and we covered the top. The problem is that the kennel gets muddy and disgusting and I hate to clean out all the poop. I am thinking about moving the kennel under the carport and then all I will have to do is hose it out every few days.

 
Posted : October 14, 2009 8:34 pm
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