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New species of mongoose in Fiji !!
As if one mongoose is not enough for Fiji – it has just been confirmed that there is second species of introduced mongoose in Fiji, the Indian Brown M
10/07/2010 - Dick Watling

The Small Indian Mongoose Herpestes auropunctatus is known to have been introduced to Fiji in 1883 and is currently restricted to Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and at last count 9 small islands. However, there have been reports of a ‘rusty-rufous’ and much larger mongoose in Fiji for at least 30 years and at one stage the identification of Herpestes edwardsii was talked about but this was not based on a scientific assessment. Dr Craig Morley, until recently at the University of the South Pacific, is responsible for the confirmation of a second species of mongoose, after a not inconsiderable amount of detective work to identify the species. In 2004, when trapping mongoose as part of an investigation into the spread of leptospirosis around Suva, he captured six large red-coloured mongoose which were nearly twice as heavy as the normal grey-brown mongoose. It has taken Craig and a host of mongoose experts over five years to confirm their identity as the Indian Brown Mongoose Herpestes fuscus which is reported in a recent publication in the journal Biological Invasions (download from the link below).
Fiji's 'new' mongoose - the Indian Brown Mongoose which is distinctly reddish. (Photo Craig Morley)
Mongooses were first introduced to Fiji in 1883 to combat rats which were a major problem in the emerging sugar cane industry. Mongooses certainly eat a large number of rats, but preying on rats and controlling their numbers are two totally different things. It is most unlikely that mongooses have any effect on the rat population. On the other hand, they have very successfully controlled the populations of several ground-nesting birds, terrestrial lizards, snakes, the spectacular Placostylus land snails, the Fiji ground frog and a vast number of undocumented insects, on Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, to such an extent that these animals are now extinct, extirpated or occur at very low densities. Quite when this mongoose was brought to Fiji is not known, but the only other systematic and scientific trapping of mongooses was undertaken in the early 1970s by Dr Martyn Gorman, also at the University of the South Pacific and he did not see or trap any large, red mongooses.
The Small Indian Mongoose - the one we see the most of. (Photo: Craig Morley)
Very little is known about H.fuscus in south west India and Sri Lanka where it is native. It is reported to be a forest inhabitant and nocturnal, and interestingly it has recently been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
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