Ruddy Mongoose

Herpestes smithii

The ruddy mongoose is a species of mongoose found in hill forests of peninsular India and Sri Lanka. This mongoose along with the striped-necked mongoose are the only mongoose species endemic to India and Sri Lanka.
A Ruddy Mongoose Poses for the Tourists Ranthambore is justifiably famous for tigers (as you can see form my other pictures), but there is much of interest in terms of birds and other mammals, such as this little fellow. Geotagged,Herpestes smithii,India,Rajasthan,Ranthambore National Park,Ruddy Mongoose,Winter

Naming

The ruddy mongoose is a very closely related to Indian grey mongoose, but distinguished by its slightly larger size and black tipped tail extending for 2 to 3 inches at the distal end. There are two sub-species of this mongoose, "H. smithii smithii" in India, and "H. smithii zeylanicus" in Sri Lanka.
Ruddy mongoose || Bangalore || Sept 2020 Herpestes smithii,Ruddy Mongoose

Behavior

The ruddy mongoose is mainly a forest living animal in contrast to the grey and small Indian mongooses and prefers more secluded areas. They have also been recorded from secluded paddy fields and in comparatively open fields. Like other mongooses, it hunts by day and by night.
Ruddy mongoose Fall,Geotagged,Herpestes smithii,India,Ruddy Mongoose

Cultural

In Sri Lanka this animal is called "mugatiya" by the Sinhala speaking community. Usually regarded as an unlikable animal and a pest. The golden palm civet, altogether a different species endemic to Sri Lanka, is also called "hotambuwa" due to similar appearance and coloration.

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Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCarnivora
FamilyHerpestidae
GenusHerpestes
SpeciesH. smithii
Photographed in
India
Sri Lanka