Mongoose

Mongoose

Herpestes javanicus

Silhouette: Margot Michaud · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at New Delhi

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

73 Verified sightings at New Delhi
7 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Mongoose

The Javan mongoose (Urva javanica) is a mongoose species native to Southeast Asia. Ichneumon javanicus was the scientific name proposed by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1818. It was later classified in the genus Herpestes, but all Asian mongooses are now thought to belong in the genus Urva.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, several zoological specimens were described, which are now considered subspecies: Herpestes exilis by Paul Gervais in 1841 was a specimen from Tourane in Vietnam. Herpestes rafflesii by John Anderson in 1875 was a specimen from Sumatra.

Mungos rubifrons by Joel Asaph Allen in 1909 were eight adult specimens collected around Wuzhi Mountain in Hainan Island, China. Mungos exilis peninsulae by Ernst Schwarz in 1910 was a skin and a skull of a mongoose collected in Bangkok.

Mungos siamensis by Cecil Boden Kloss in 1917 was a skin of an adult female mongoose collected in northern Thailand. Mungos parakensis by Kloss in 1917 was a skin and a skull of an adult female mongoose from the vicinity of Taiping, Perak in Peninsular Malaysia.

Herpestes javanicus tjerapai by Henri Jacob Victor Sody in 1949 was an adult male mongoose collected in Aceh Province,... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Dhaka 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~40%
2 Lucknow 🇮🇳 India
~40%
3 New Delhi 🇮🇳 India
~30%
4 Agra 🇮🇳 India
~20%
5 Kolkata 🇮🇳 India
~20%
6 Prayagraj 🇮🇳 India
~20%
7 Jakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Millets Wildside Falconry and Wildlife Centre 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Mongoose in New Delhi?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Mongoose sighting in New Delhi on a given day, based on 73 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 11 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Mongoose in New Delhi?

February and October

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Mongoose in New Delhi on a given day, against about 10% in March, July and November, the lowest months. Those are among New Delhi's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 220 mm in July.

What time of day is best to see a Mongoose?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mongoose sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is New Delhi the best place to see a Mongoose?

3rd of 7

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Mongoose sightings, New Delhi ranks 3rd at about 30%. The best odds are in Dhaka (Bangladesh, about 40%) and Lucknow (India, about 40%).

Where does the Mongoose sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Mongoose is recorded against all the mammals logged in New Delhi (73 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

← Back to New Delhi