The Egyptian mongoose's long, coarse fur is grey to reddish brown and ticked with brown and yellow flecks. Its snout is pointed, its ears are small. Its slender body is 48–60 cm (1 ft 7 in – 2 ft 0 in) long with a 33–54 cm (1 ft 1 in – 1 ft 9 in) long black tipped tail. Its hind feet and a small area around the eyes are furless. It has 35–40 teeth, with highly developedcarnassials, used for shearing meat. It weighs 1.7–4 kg (3.7–8.8 lb).[3]
Sexually dimorphic Egyptian mongooses were observed in Portugal, where some females are smaller than males.[4]
The Egyptian mongoose lives inswampy andmarshy habitats near streams,rivers,lakes and incoastal areas. Where it inhabitsmaquis shrubland in the Iberian Peninsula, it prefers areas close to rivers with densevegetation. It does not occur in deserts.[3]
In Sudan, it is present in the vicinity of human settlements along theRahad River and inDinder National Park.[13] It was also recorded in the Dinder–Alatash protected area complex during surveys between 2015 and 2018.[14] InEthiopia, the Egyptian mongoose was recorded at elevations of 2,000–3,000 m (6,600–9,800 ft) in theEthiopian Highlands.[15][16]
InSenegal, it was observed in 2000 inNiokolo-Koba National Park, which mainly encompasses open habitat dominated bygrasses.[17]InGuinea'sNational Park of Upper Niger, the occurrence of the Egyptian mongoose was first documented during surveys in spring 1997. Surveyors found dead individuals onbushmeat markets in villages located in the vicinity of the park.[18]
Several hypotheses were proposed to explain the occurrence of the Egyptian mongoose in the Iberian Peninsula:
TraditionalIy, it was thought to have been introduced following the Muslim invasion in the 8th century.[22]
Bones of Egyptian mongooseexcavated in Spain and Portugal wereradiocarbon dated to the first century. The scientists therefore suggested an introduction during theRoman Hispania era and use for eliminating rats and mice in domestic areas.[23]
The Egyptian mongoose isdiurnal.[25]InDoñana National Park, single Egyptian mongooses, pairs and groups of up to five individuals were observed. Adult males showedterritorial behaviour, and shared their home ranges with one or several females. The home ranges of adult females overlapped to some degree, except in core areas where they raised their offspring.[26]
Captive males and females reachsexual maturity at the age of two years.[31] In Doñana National Park, courtship andmating happens in spring between February and June. Two to three pups are born between mid April and mid August after agestation of 11 weeks.[32] They are hairless at first, and open their eyes after about a week. Females take care of them for up to one year, occasionally also longer. They start foraging on their own at the age of four months, but compete for food brought back to them after that age. In the wild, Egyptian mongooses probably reach 12 years of age. A captive Egyptian mongoose was over 20 years old.[3]Itsgeneration length is 7.5 years.[33]
A survey ofpoaching methods in Israel carried out in autumn 2000 revealed that the Egyptian mongoose is affected bysnaring in agricultural areas. Most of the traps found were set up by Thai guest workers.[47]Numerous dried heads of Egyptian mongooses were found in 2007 at theDantokpa Market in southern Benin, suggesting that it is used as fetish in animalrituals.[48]
Mummified remains of four Egyptian mongooses wereexcavated in thecatacombs ofAnubis atSaqqara during works started in 2009.[49]At the cemetery ofBeni Hasan, an Egyptian mongoose on a leash is depicted in the tomb of Baqet I dating to theEleventh Dynasty of Egypt.[50] The Egyptian goddessMafdet, who protected humans from snake and scorpion venom, was associated with the mongoose.[51]
^Bandeira V, Virgós E, Barros T, Cunha MV, Fonseca C (2016). "Geographic variation and sexual dimorphism in body size of the Egyptian mongoose,Herpestes ichneumon in the western limit of its European distribution".Zoologischer Anzeiger.264:1–10.Bibcode:2016ZooAn.264....1B.doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2016.06.001.
^Borralho, R.; Rego, F.; Palomares, F. & Hora, A. (1995). "The distribution of the Egyptian mongooseHerpestes ichneumon (L.) in Portugal".Mammal Review.26 (25): 229−236.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1996.tb00143.x.
^Albaba, I. (2016). "The terrestrial mammals of Palestine: A preliminary checklist".International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies.3 (4): 28−35.
^Yalden, D.W.; Largen, M.J.; Kock, D. & Hillman, J.C. (1996). "Catalogue of the Mammals of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Revised checklist, zoogeography and conservation".Tropical Zoology 9.9 (1): 73−164.Bibcode:1996TrZoo...9...73Y.doi:10.1080/03946975.1996.10539304.
^Eltringham, S.K.; Morley, R.J.; Kingdon, J.; Coe, M.J. & McWilliam, N.C. (1999)."Checklist: Mammals of Mkomazi"(PDF). In Coe, M. J. (ed.).Mkomazi: The Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation of a Tanzanian Savanna. London: Royal Geographical Society, Institute of British Geographers. pp. 503–510.ISBN978-0-907649-75-5.
^Gaubert, P.; Machordom, A.; Morales, A.; López-Bao, V. J.; Veron, G.; Amin, M.; Barros, T.; Basuony, M.; Djagoun, C. A. M. S.; Do Linh San, E.; Fonseca, C.; Geffen, E.; Ozkurt, S. O.; Cruaud, C.; Couloux, A.; Palomares, F. (2011). "Comparative phylogeography of two African carnivorans presumably introduced into Europe: disentangling natural versus human-mediated dispersal across the Strait of Gibraltar".Journal of Biogeography.38 (2): 341−358.Bibcode:2011JBiog..38..341G.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02406.x.hdl:10261/51540.S2CID35131821.
^Palomares, F. & Delibes, M. (1993). "Social organization in the Egyptian mongoose: group size, spatial behaviour and inter-individual contacts in adults".Animal Behaviour.45 (5):917–925.doi:10.1006/anbe.1993.1111.S2CID53180507.
^Palomares, F. (1993). "Opportunistic feeding of the Egyptian mongoose,Herpertes ichneumon (L.) in Southwestern Spain".Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et la Vie).48 (3):295–304.doi:10.3406/revec.1993.2108.S2CID129815558.
^Pacifici, M.; Santini, L.; Di Marco, M.; Baisero, D.; Francucci, L.; Grottolo Marasini, G.; Visconti, P. & Rondinini, C. (2013). "Generation length for mammals".Nature Conservation (5):87–94.
^Linnaeus, C. (1758)."Viverra ichneumon".Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Vol. Tomus I (decima, reformata ed.). Holmiae: Laurentius Salvius. p. 41.(in Latin)
^Gmelin, J. F. (1788)."Viverra cafra".Caroli a Linné systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I (Editio decima tertia, aucta, reformata ed.). Leipzig: Georg Emanuel Beer. p. 85.
^Cuvier, F.G. (1834)."Mangouste d'Alger".Histoire naturelle des mammifères: avec des figures originales, coloriées, dessinées d'après des animaux vivans. Tome VII. Paris: Blaise. p. 68.
^Cabrera, Á. (1924)."Mamíferos africanos nuevos".Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural.24 (4): 216−224. Archived fromthe original on 2018-11-01. Retrieved2018-10-31.
^Roberts, A. (1926). "Some new S. African mammals and some changes in nomenclature".Annals of the Transvaal Museum.11 (4): 245−267.
^Roberts, A. (1932). "Preliminary description of fifty-seven new forms of South African mammals".Annals of the Transvaal Museum.15 (1): 1−19.
^Illiger, C. D. (1811)."GenusHerpestes".Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium additis terminis zoographicis uttriusque classis. Berlin: Sumptibus C. Salfeld. p. 135.
^Evans, L. (2017). "Beasts and Beliefs at Beni Hassan: A Preliminary Report".Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt.52: 219−229.doi:10.5913/jarce.52.2016.a013 (inactive 12 July 2025).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
^Wilkinson, R. H. (2003).The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. p. 196.ISBN0-500-05120-8.
^Whittier, J. G. (1902)."The Dead Ichneumon".The Independent. Vol. 54, no. 2816. New York City. pp. 2746–2747.
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