Egyptian mongoose

File:The contemporary land mammals of Egypt (including Sinai) (1980) Fig. 129.png

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 {{convert|48|-|60|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} long with a {{convert|33|-|54|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} long black tipped tail. Its hind feet and a small area around the eyes are furless. It has 35–40 teeth, with highly developed carnassials, used for shearing meat. It weighs {{convert|1.7|-|4|kg|abbr=on}}.{{cite book |author=Palomares, F. |year=2013 |title=The Mammals of Africa. V. Carnivores, Pangolins, Equids and Rhinoceroses |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |pages=306−310 |chapter=Herpestes ichneumon Egyptian Mongoose (Ichneumon) |editor=J. Kingdon |editor2=M. Hoffmann |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B_07noCPc4kC&pg=RA4-PA306 |isbn=978-1-4081-8996-2}}

Sexually dimorphic Egyptian mongooses were observed in Portugal, where some females are smaller than males.{{cite journal |vauthors=Bandeira V, Virgós E, Barros T, Cunha MV, Fonseca C |year=2016 |title=Geographic variation and sexual dimorphism in body size of the Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon in the western limit of its European distribution |journal=Zoologischer Anzeiger |volume=264 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1016/j.jcz.2016.06.001|bibcode=2016ZooAn.264....1B }}

Female Egyptian mongooses have 44 chromosomes, and males 43, as one Y chromosome is translocated to an autosome.{{cite journal |author=Fredga, K. |year=1977 |title=Chromosomal Changes in Vertebrate Evolution |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London |series=Series B, Biological Sciences |volume=199 |issue=1136 |pages=377–397 |doi=10.1098/rspb.1977.0148 |jstor=77302|pmid=22865 |bibcode=1977RSPSB.199..377F |s2cid=32364326 }}

The Egyptian mongoose lives in swampy and marshy habitats near streams, rivers, lakes and in coastal areas. Where it inhabits maquis shrubland in the Iberian Peninsula, it prefers areas close to rivers with dense vegetation. It does not occur in deserts.

It has been recorded in Portugal from north of the Douro River to the south, and in Spain from the central plateau, Andalucía to the Strait of Gibraltar.{{cite journal |author1=Borralho, R. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Rego, F. |author3=Palomares, F. |author4=Hora, A. |year=1995 |title=The distribution of the Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon (L.) in Portugal |journal=Mammal Review |volume=26 |issue=25 |pages=229−236 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.1996.tb00143.x}}{{cite journal |title=Expansion and distribution of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in the Iberian Peninsula |author1=Balmori, A. |author2=Carbonell, R. |journal=Galemys |year=2012 |volume=24 |pages=83−85 |doi=10.7325/Galemys.2012.N08 |doi-access=free}}

In North Africa, it occurs along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlas Mountains from Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia into Libya, and from northern Egypt across the Sinai Peninsula.

In Egypt, one individual was observed in Faiyum Oasis in 1993. In the same year, its tracks were recorded in sand dunes close to the coast near Sidi Barrani.{{cite journal |author=Kasparek, M. |year=1993 |title=The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, in western Egypt |journal=Zoology in the Middle East |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=31–32}}

An individual was observed on an island in Lake Burullus in the Nile Delta during an ecological survey in the late 1990s.{{cite book |author=Basuony, M.I. |year=2000 |title=Ecological Survey of Burullus Nature Protectorate. Mammals |chapter=Herpestes ichneumon ichneumon (Linnaeus, 1758) |publisher=Nature Conservation Sector, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency |location=Cairo |page=19}}

In the Palestinian territories, it was recorded in the Gaza Strip and Jericho Governorate in the West Bank during surveys carried out between 2012 and 2016.{{cite journal |author=Albaba, I. |year= 2016 |title=The terrestrial mammals of Palestine: A preliminary checklist |journal=International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=28−35}}

In western Syria, it was observed in the Latakia Governorate between 1989 and 1995; taxidermied specimens were offered in local shops.{{cite journal |author=Masseti, M. |year=2009 |title=Carnivores of Syria |journal=ZooKeys |doi=10.3897/zookeys.31.170 |issue= 31 |pages=229–252|doi-access=free |bibcode=2009ZooK...31..229M}}

In southern Turkey, it was recorded in the Hatay and Adana Provinces.{{cite journal |author=Özkurt, Ş.Ö. |year=2015 |title=Karyological and some morphological characteristics of the Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon (Mammalia: Carnivora), along with current distribution range in Turkey |journal=Turkish Journal of Zoology |volume=39 |pages=482−487 |issue=39 |doi=10.3906/zoo-1403-25 |doi-access=free}}

In Sudan, it is present in the vicinity of human settlements along the Rahad River and in Dinder National Park.{{cite journal |author1=Elnaiem, D.A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Hassan, M.M. |author3=Maingon, R. |author4=Nureldin, G.H. |author5=Mekawi, A.M. |author6=Miles, M. |author7=Ward, R.D. |year=2001 |title=The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, is a possible reservoir host of visceral leishmaniasis in eastern Sudan |journal=Parasitology |volume=122 |issue=5 |pages=531–536 |doi=10.1017/s0031182001007594 |pmid=11393826 |s2cid=18583792 |url=https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/16246/1/Egyptian.pdf}} It was also recorded in the Dinder–Alatash protected area complex during surveys between 2015 and 2018.{{cite journal |author1=Bauer, H. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Mohammed, A.A. |author3=El Faki, A. |author4=Hiwytalla, K.O. |author5=Bedin, E. |author6=Rskay, G. |author7=Sitotaw, E. |author8=Sillero-Zubiri, C. |year=2018 |title=Antelopes of the Dinder-Alatash transboundary Protected Area, Sudan and Ethiopia |journal=Gnusletter |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=26–30 |url=https://www.marwell.org.uk/media/other/GNUSLETTER_Vol_35_12018.pdf#page=26 |access-date=2018-12-03 |archive-date=2021-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129192754/https://www.marwell.org.uk/media/other/GNUSLETTER_Vol_35_12018.pdf#page=26}} In Ethiopia, the Egyptian mongoose was recorded at elevations of {{cvt|2000|-|3000|m}} in the Ethiopian Highlands.{{cite journal |author1=Yalden, D.W. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Largen, M.J. |author3=Kock, D. |author4=Hillman, J.C. |year=1996 |title=Catalogue of the Mammals of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Revised checklist, zoogeography and conservation |journal=Tropical Zoology 9 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=73−164 |doi=10.1080/03946975.1996.10539304 |bibcode=1996TrZoo...9...73Y}}{{cite book |last1=Aerts |first1=R. |chapter=Forest and woodland vegetation in the highlands of Dogu'a Tembien |editor1=Nyssen, J. |editor2=Jacob, M. |editor3=Frankl, A. |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains. The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}}

In Senegal, it was observed in 2000 in Niokolo-Koba National Park, which mainly encompasses open habitat dominated by grasses.{{cite journal |author1=McGrew, W.C. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Baldwin, P.J. |author3=Marchant, L.F. |author4=Pruetz, J.D. |author5=Tutin, C.E. |year=2014 |title=Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and their mammalian sympatriates: Mt. Assirik, Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal |journal=Primates |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=525−532 |doi=10.1007/s10329-014-0434-2 |pmid=24990446 |s2cid=16046066}}

In Guinea's National Park of Upper Niger, the occurrence of the Egyptian mongoose was first documented during surveys in spring 1997. Surveyors found dead individuals on bushmeat markets in villages located in the vicinity of the park.{{cite journal |author1=Ziegler, S. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Nikolaus, G. |author3=Hutterer, R. |year=2002 |title=High mammalian diversity in the newly established National Park of Upper Niger, Republic of Guinea |journal=Oryx |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=73–80 |doi=10.1017/s003060530200011x |doi-access=free}}

In Gabon's Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, it was recorded only in savanna habitats.{{cite journal |author=Nakashima, Y. |year=2015 |title=Inventorying medium-and large-sized mammals in the African lowland rainforest using camera trapping |journal=Tropics |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=151–164 |doi=10.3759/tropics.23.151|doi-access=free}}

In the Republic of Congo, it was repeatedly observed in the Western Congolian forest–savanna mosaic of Odzala-Kokoua National Park during surveys in 2007.{{cite journal |author1=Henschel, P. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Malanda, G.A. |author3=Hunter, L. |year=2014 |title=The status of savanna carnivores in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park, northern Republic of Congo |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=95 |issue=4 |pages=882–892 |doi=10.1644/13-MAMM-A-306|doi-access=free}}

In the 1990s, it was considered a common species in Tanzania's Mkomazi National Park.{{cite book |year=1999 |title=Mkomazi: The Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation of a Tanzanian Savanna |location=London |publisher=Royal Geographical Society, Institute of British Geographers |editor1-last=Coe |editor1-first=M. J. |isbn=978-0-907649-75-5 |author1=Eltringham, S.K. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Morley, R.J. |author3=Kingdon, J. |author4=Coe, M.J. |author5=McWilliam, N.C. |chapter=Checklist: Mammals of Mkomazi |pages=503–510 |chapter-url=http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/133/1334368397.pdf}}

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.{{cite book |author=Cheylan, G. |chapter=Patterns of Pleistocene turnover, current distribution and speciation among Mediterranean mammals |year= 1991 |title=Biogeography of Mediterranean invasions |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=227−262 |isbn=978-0-521-36040-1 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQcUkPf37lcC&pg=PA227 |editor1-last=Groves |editor1-first=R. H. |editor2-last=Groves |editor2-first=R. H. |editor3-last=Di Castri |editor3-first=F.}}
• Bones of Egyptian mongoose excavated in Spain and Portugal were radiocarbon dated to the first century. The scientists therefore suggested an introduction during the Roman Hispania era and use for eliminating rats and mice in domestic areas.{{cite journal |author1=Detry, C. |author2=Cardoso, J. L. |author3=Mora, J. H. |author4=Bustamante-Álvarez, M. |author5=Silva, A. M. |author6=Pimenta, J. |author7=Fernandes, I. |author8=Fernandes, C. |year=2018 |title=Did the Romans introduce the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) into the Iberian Peninsula? |journal=The Science of Nature |volume=105 |issue=11–12 |page=63 |doi=10.1007/s00114-018-1586-5|pmid=30311012 |bibcode=2018SciNa.105...63D |hdl=10400.2/7699 |s2cid=52964026 |hdl-access=free}}
• Other authors proposed a natural colonisation of the Iberian Peninsula during the Pleistocene across a land bridge when sea levels were low between glacial and interglacial periods. This population would have remained isolated from populations in Africa after the Last Glacial Period.{{cite journal |title=Comparative phylogeography of two African carnivorans presumably introduced into Europe: disentangling natural versus human-mediated dispersal across the Strait of Gibraltar |author1=Gaubert, P. |author2=Machordom, A. |author3=Morales, A. |author4=López-Bao, V. J. |author5=Veron, G. |author6=Amin, M. |author7=Barros, T. |author8=Basuony, M. |author9=Djagoun, C. A. M. S. |author10=Do Linh San, E. |author11=Fonseca, C. |author12=Geffen, E. |author13=Ozkurt, S. O. |author14=Cruaud, C. |author15=Couloux, A. |author16=Palomares, F. |year=2011 |journal=Journal of Biogeography |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=341−358 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02406.x|bibcode=2011JBiog..38..341G |hdl=10261/51540 |s2cid=35131821 |hdl-access=free}}

File:Herpestes ichneumon - Egyptian Mongoose.JPG

The Egyptian mongoose is diurnal.{{cite book |last=Estes |first=R.D. |date=1991 |title=The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-08085-8 |author-link=Richard Despard Estes |chapter=Ichneumon, Gray or Egyptian Mongoose |pages=298–302 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858/page/298}}

In Doñana National Park, single Egyptian mongooses, pairs and groups of up to five individuals were observed. Adult males showed territorial 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.{{cite journal |author1=Palomares, F. |author2=Delibes, M. |name-list-style=amp |year=1993 |title=Social organization in the Egyptian mongoose: group size, spatial behaviour and inter-individual contacts in adults |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=45 |issue=5 |pages=917–925 |doi=10.1006/anbe.1993.1111 |s2cid=53180507}}

It preys on rodents, fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. It also feeds on fruit and eggs. To crack eggs open, it throws them between its legs against a rock or wall.

In Doñana National Park, 30 Egyptian mongooses were radio-tracked in 1985 and their faeces collected. These samples contained remains of European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), sand lizards (Psammodromus), Iberian spadefoot toad (Pelobates cultripes), greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula), three-toed skink (Chalcides chalcides), dabbling ducks (Anas), western cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis), wild boar (Sus scrofa) meat, Algerian mouse (Mus spretus) and rat species (Rattus).{{cite journal |author=Palomares, F. |year=1993 |title=Opportunistic feeding of the Egyptian mongoose, Herpertes ichneumon (L.) in Southwestern Spain |journal=Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et la Vie) |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=295–304|doi=10.3406/revec.1993.2108 |s2cid=129815558}}

Research in southeastern Nigeria revealed that it also feeds on giant pouched rats (Cricetomys), Temminck's mouse (Mus musculoides), Tullberg's soft-furred mouse (Praomys tulbergi), Nigerian shrew (Crocidura nigeriae), Hallowell's toad (Amietophrynus maculatus), African brown water snake (Afronatrix anoscopus), and Mabuya skinks.{{cite journal |author1=Angelici, F.M. |year=2000 |title=Food habits and resource partitioning of carnivores (Herpestidae, Viverridae) in the rainforests of southeastern Nigeria: preliminary results |journal=Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et la Vie) |volume=55 |pages=67–76 |doi=10.3406/revec.2000.2314 |s2cid=55589137 |url=http://documents.irevues.inist.fr/bitstream/handle/2042/55398/RevuedEcologie_2000_55_1_67.pdf?sequence=1}}

It attacks and feeds on venomous snakes, and is resistant to the venom of Palestine viper (Daboia palaestinae), black desert cobra (Walterinnesia aegyptia) and black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis).{{cite journal |author1=Ovadia, M. |author2=Kochva, E. |name-list-style=amp |year=1977 |title=Neutralization of Viperide and Elapidae snake venoms by sera of different animals |journal=Toxicon |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=541−547 |doi=10.1016/0041-0101(77)90105-2 |pmid=906038 |bibcode=1977Txcn...15..541O}}

In Spain, it has been recorded less frequently in areas where the Iberian lynx was reintroduced.{{Cite journal |last1=Jiménez |first1=J. |last2=Nuñez-Arjona |first2=J. C. |last3=Mougeot |first3=F. |last4=Ferreras |first4=P. |last5=González |first5=L. M. |last6=García-Domínguez |first6=F. |last7=Muñoz-Igualada |first7=J. |last8=Palacios |first8=M. J. |last9=Pla|first9=S. |last10=Rueda|first10=C. |last11=Villaespesa |first11=F. |name-list-style=amp |date=2019 |title=Restoring apex predators can reduce mesopredator abundances |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=238 |page=108234 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108234 |bibcode=2019BCons.23808234J |hdl=10578/24460 |s2cid=203405626 |hdl-access=free}}

Captive males and females reach sexual maturity at the age of two years.{{cite journal |author=Dücker, V.G. |year=1960 |title=Beobachtungen über das Paarungsverhalten des Ichneumons (Herpestes ichneumon L.) |journal=Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde |volume=25 |pages=47–51 |url=https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Zeitschrift-Saeugetierkunde_25_0047-0051.pdf}} In Doñana National Park, courtship and mating happens in spring between February and June. Two to three pups are born between mid April and mid August after a gestation of 11 weeks.{{cite journal |author1=Palomares, F. |author2=Delibes, M. |name-list-style=amp |year=1992 |title=Some physical and population characteristics of Egyptian mongooses (Herpertes ichneumon L., 1758) in southwestern Spain |journal=Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde |volume=57 |pages=94–99 |hdl=10261/50822 |url=https://digital.csic.es/handle/10261/50822}} 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.

Its generation length is 7.5 years.{{cite journal |title=Generation length for mammals |author1=Pacifici, M. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Santini, L. |author3=Di Marco, M. |author4=Baisero, D. |author5=Francucci, L. |author6=Grottolo Marasini, G. |author7=Visconti, P. |author8=Rondinini, C. |journal=Nature Conservation |year=2013 |issue=5 |pages=87–94}}

In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described an Egyptian mongoose from the area of the Nile River in Egypt in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Viverra ichneumon.{{cite book |last=Linnaeus|first= C. |year=1758 |title=Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis |volume=Tomus I |edition=decima, reformata |location=Holmiae |publisher=Laurentius Salvius |page=41 |chapter=Viverra ichneumon |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/mobot31753000798865#page/43/mode/2up}} {{in lang|la}}

H. i. ichneumon (Linnaeus, 1758) is the nominate subspecies. The following zoological specimen were described between the late 18th century and the early 1930s as subspecies:{{MSW3 Carnivora |id=14000596 |page=567 |heading=Herpestes ichneumon}}

• Viverra cafra (Gmelin, 1788) − based on a description of a specimen from the Cape of Good Hope.{{cite book |author=Gmelin, J. F. |year= 1788 |title=Caroli a Linné systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I |edition=Editio decima tertia, aucta, reformata |publisher=Georg Emanuel Beer |location=Leipzig |page=85 |chapter=Viverra cafra |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mobot31753000801537/page/84}}
• Herpestes ichneumon numidicus F. G. Cuvier, 1834 − two individuals from Algiers in Algeria kept in the menagerie of the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, France{{cite book |author=Cuvier, F.G. |year=1834 |title=Histoire naturelle des mammifères: avec des figures originales, coloriées, dessinées d'après des animaux vivans. Tome VII |publisher=Blaise |location=Paris |page=68 |chapter=Mangouste d'Alger |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/HistoirenaturelVIIGeof/HistoirenaturelVIIGeof#page/n131/mode/2up}}
• Herpestes ichneumon widdringtonii Gray, 1842 − a specimen from Sierra Morena in Spain{{cite journal |author=Gray, J. E. |year=1842 |title=Description of a new species of Ichneumon (Herpestes) discovered in Spain |journal=The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology |volume=9 |issue=55 |page=49−50 |url=https://archive.org/details/annalsmagazineof09lond/page/49 |doi=10.1080/03745484209442954}}
• Herpestes angolensis (Bocage, 1890) − a male specimen from Quissange in Angola{{cite journal |author=Bocage, J.V.B. |year=1890 |title=Mammifières d'Angola et du Congo |journal=Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas, Physicas e Naturaes |series=Series 2|volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=1−32 |url=https://archive.org/details/jornaldescinc22189092acad/page/n42}}
• Mungos ichneumon parvidens (Lönnberg, 1908) − three specimens collected near the lower Congo River in Congo Free State{{cite journal |author=Lönnberg, E. |year=1908 |title=Notes on some Mammals collected in the Congo Free State |journal=Arkiv för Zoologi |volume=4 |issue=16 |pages=1−14 |url=https://archive.org/details/arkivfrzoologi04kung/page/n561}}
• Mungos ichneumon funestus (Osgood, 1910) − a specimen from Naivasha in British East Africa{{cite journal |author=Osgood, W.H. |title=Further new mammals from British East Africa |year=1910 |journal=Publications of Field Museum of Natural History, Zoological Series |volume=10 |page=15−21 |url=https://archive.org/details/furthernewmammal103osgo/page/n9}}
• Mungos ichneumon centralis (Lönnberg, 1917) − two specimens from Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo{{cite journal |author=Lönnberg, E. |year=1917 |title=Mammals collected in Central Africa by Captain E. Arrhenius |journal=Kongliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=1−110 |url=https://archive.org/details/kunglsvenskavete58kung/page/n161}}
• Herpestes ichneumon sangronizi Cabrera, 1924 − a specimen from Mogador in Morocco{{cite journal |author=Cabrera, Á. |year=1924 |title=Mamíferos africanos nuevos |journal=Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=216−224 |url=http://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/ing/Libro.php?Libro=1232 |access-date=2018-10-31 |archive-date=2018-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101015722/http://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/ing/Libro.php?Libro=1232 }}
• Herpestes caffer sabiensis (Roberts, 1926) − a specimen from Sabi Sand Game Reserve in Southern Africa{{cite journal |author=Roberts, A. |year=1926 |title=Some new S. African mammals and some changes in nomenclature |journal=Annals of the Transvaal Museum |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=245−267}}
• Herpestes cafer mababiensis (Roberts, 1932) − a specimen from Mababe in northern Bechuanaland{{cite journal |author=Roberts, A. |year=1932 |title=Preliminary description of fifty-seven new forms of South African mammals |journal=Annals of the Transvaal Museum |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=1−19}}

In 1811, Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger subsumed the ichneumon to the genus Herpestes.{{cite book |author=Illiger, C. D. |year=1811 |chapter=Genus Herpestes |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/b21304397/page/135 |page=135 |title=Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium additis terminis zoographicis uttriusque classis |location=Berlin |publisher=Sumptibus C. Salfeld}}

A survey of poaching methods in Israel carried out in autumn 2000 revealed that the Egyptian mongoose is affected by snaring in agricultural areas. Most of the traps found were set up by Thai guest workers.{{cite journal |author=Yom-Tov, Y. |year=2003 |title=Poaching of Israeli wildlife by guest workers |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=110 |issue=1 |pages=11−20 |url=https://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/zoology/members/yom-tov/articles/Poaching.pdf |doi=10.1016/s0006-3207(02)00169-6|bibcode=2003BCons.110...11Y }}

Numerous dried heads of Egyptian mongooses were found in 2007 at the Dantokpa Market in southern Benin, suggesting that it is used as fetish in animal rituals.{{cite journal |author1=Djagoun, C. A. M. S. |author2=Gaubert, P. |year=2009 |title=Small carnivorans from southern Benin: a preliminary assessment of diversity and hunting pressure |journal=Small Carnivore Conservation |issue=40 |pages=1–10 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228762921}}

The Egyptian mongoose is listed on Appendix III of the Berne Convention, and Annex V of the European Union Habitats and Species Directive.

In Israel, wildlife is protected by law, and hunting allowed only with a permit.

File:Egyptian mongoose-IMG 6340.jpg statue with uraeus and solar disc, Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt]]

File:Egyptian mongoose-IMG 6334.jpg

File:Egyptian - Ichneumon - Walters 54410.jpg statue dedicated to the goddess Wadjet, exhibited in Walters Art Museum]]

Mummified remains of four Egyptian mongooses were excavated in the catacombs of Anubis at Saqqara during works started in 2009.{{cite journal |author1=Nicholson, P.T. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Ikram, S. |author3=Mills, S.F. |year=2015 |title=The Catacombs of Anubis at North Saqqara |journal=Antiquity |volume=89 |issue=345 |pages=645−661 |doi=10.15184/aqy.2014.53 |s2cid=53539966 |url=http://orca.cf.ac.uk/74282/1/The%20Catacombs%20of%20Anubis%20At%20North%20Saqqara%20REVISED%2022-7-2014a.pdf}}

At the cemetery of Beni Hasan, an Egyptian mongoose on a leash is depicted in the tomb of Baqet I dating to the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt.{{cite journal |last=Evans |first=L. |year=2017 |title=Beasts and Beliefs at Beni Hassan: A Preliminary Report |journal=Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt |volume=52 |pages=219−229 |doi=10.5913/jarce.52.2016.a013|doi-broken-date=2024-11-02}}

The American poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a poem as an elegy for an ichneumon, which had been brought to Haverhill Academy in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1830. The long lost poem was published in the November 1902 issue of "The Independent" magazine.{{cite magazine |last=Whittier |first=J. G. |date=1902 |title=The Dead Ichneumon |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=msu.31293500313204&view=1up&seq=1184 |magazine=The Independent |location=New York City |volume=54 |issue=2816 |pages=2746–2747}}

The Sherlock Holmes canon also features an ichneumon the short story The Adventure of the Crooked Man, though due to Watson's description of its appearance and its owner's history in India it is likely to actually be an Indian grey mongoose.

{{cite book |last=Conan Doyle |first= A. |author-link=Arthur Conan Doyle |date=1893 |title=The Adventure of the Crooked Man |publisher=A. L. Burt Company |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Memoirs_of_Sherlock_Holmes_1894_Burt/The_Crooked_Man}}

• Ichneumon (In medieval zoology)

{{Reflist}}

{{Wikispecies|Herpestes ichneumon}}

{{Commons}}

{{NSRW Poster|Ichneumon}}

• {{cite news |last=Jarus |first=O. |date=2017 |title=Tomb Drawing Shows Mongoose on a Leash, Puzzling Archaeologists |url=https://www.livescience.com/59022-egypt-tomb-with-leashed-mongoose-drawing.html |work=Live Science |access-date= 9 August 2017}}

{{Carnivora|F.}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q649306}}

Category:Herpestes

Category:Mammals of Ethiopia

Category:Mammals of Angola

Category:Mammals of Turkey

Category:Mongooses of Africa

Category:Mammals described in 1758

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Category:Habitats Directive species