Why are mongooses not afraid of venomous snakes?

The meerkat is a highly social small mammal of the genus Suricata in the family Herpestidae, usually living in groups that can reach forty individuals. It is skilled at digging burrows, rests at night and is active during the day, and lives in grasslands and open plains. Its distribution depends on soil type, with hard tropical soils being its preferred habitat. Let's take a look below at why mongooses are not afraid of venomous snakes!

Why are mongooses not afraid of venomous snakes?

Mongooses feed mainly on insects, but they also eat lizards, snakes, spiders, plants, eggs and small mammals. Mongooses are naturally agile in movement, so they basically do not get bitten by venomous snakes, and the mongoose's body has antivenom genes that can resist the harmful effects of snake venom. At the same time, mongooses are also carnivores that live in groups and often hunt together, so when dealing with venomous snakes they also attack them as a group.

Are mongooses social animals?

The meerkat is an extremely social animal. Each meerkat group usually consists of 2 to 50 meerkats. The group forms a matriarchal society, and its internal rulers are a dominant male and a dominant female, with the dominant male chosen by the dominant female. Below them, all other meerkats are of lower status, while pups rank slightly higher, but once pups reach 3 years of age they must leave the family. Male pups will become the leaders of other groups or form new groups, while females may still return to the group after leaving. Individuals in the same group often groom each other to strengthen social bonds.

Are mongooses protected animals?

Mongooses are distributed in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa, mainly including Angola, Namibia and Botswana. Their distribution range is wide, and they do not approach the criteria for a vulnerable or endangered species (distribution area or fluctuation range less than 20,000 square kilometers, habitat quality, population size, fragmentation of distribution area). The population trend is stable, so they are assessed as a species with no survival crisis. At present, mongooses are listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2015 Red List of Threatened Species ver 3.1——Least Concern (LC).