A mongoose is a member of the family of small cat-like carnivores. Mongooses are widely distributed in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and southern Europe. There are more than thirty species, ranging from one to four feet in length. Mongooses mostly feed on insects, crabs, earthworms, lizards, snakes, chickens, and rodents. However, they will also eat eggs and carrion. Some species, such as the Indian mongoose, are popularly used to fight and kill venomous snakes, even king cobras. They are able to do this because of their agility and cunning, but typically avoid the cobra and have no particular affinity for consuming their meat.
Some species of mongoose can be easily domesticated, are fairly intelligent, and can be taught simple tricks, so they are often kept as pets to protect the home from vermin. However, they can be more destructive than desired; when imported into the West Indies for the purpose of killing rats and snakes, they destroyed most of the small, ground-based fauna. For this reason, it is illegal to import most species of mongooses into the United States, Australia and other countries. Mongooses were introduced to Hawaii in 1883, and have had a significant impact on native species. Mongooses are sometimes referred to as "the most dangerous animals on the planet" for this reason.citation needed]
Mongooses are a common spectacle for road-side shows in India. Snake-charmers typically keep mongooses for mock fights with snakes. In Okinawa, Japan, there is a tourist attraction where a mongoose and a type of local venomous snake, the habu (one of various Trimeresurus species) are placed in a closed perimeter and allowed to fight, while spectators watch. However, due to pressure from animal rights activists, the spectacle is less common today.
The plural form of mongoose is properly mongooses. The common form mongeese is technically incorrect since the words goose and mongoose are not linguistically related. The word mongoose is derived from the Marathi word mangus.