Herpestes fuscus
Silhouette: Margot Michaud · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The Indian brown mongoose or brown mongoose (Urva fusca) is a mongoose species native to the Western Ghats in India and the western coast in Sri Lanka and introduced to Fiji. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.
The Indian brown mongoose appears large compared to the other mongoose species in southern Western Ghats. This species has a dark brown body and its legs are noticeably in black colour. Head to body length is 33–48 cm. Tail is about 20–34 cm which is two-thirds of its body length and more furry than that of the small Indian mongoose. A pointed tail and fur beneath the hindleg help to distinguish this species from others. Males are larger and heavier than females with a weight of 2.7 kg. Young are much darker in color with yellowish eyes.
In South India, the Indian brown mongoose lives at an elevation range of 700–1,300 m (2,300–4,300 ft) from Virajpet in south Coorg and Ooty in the Nilgiri Hills, Tiger Shola in the Palni Hills, High Wavy Mountains in Madurai, Kalakad-Mundanthurai in Agasthyamalai Hills, Valparai plateau in the Anamalai Hills, and Peeramedu in Kerala. In Sri Lanka, the species is confined to... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horton Plains National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Brown Mongoose sighting in Horton Plains National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 6 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Brown Mongoose in Horton Plains National Park on a given day, against about 20% in May to July, the lowest months. That is one of Horton Plains National Park's wettest months, with about 350 mm of rain against 80 mm in March. September has too few records to rate.
Between 5 and 8 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Brown Mongoose sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Horton Plains National Park, in our data
Horton Plains National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Indian Brown Mongoose sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Indian Brown Mongoose is recorded against all the mammals logged in Horton Plains National Park (12 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
