Ruddy Mongoose

Description:

Ruddy Mongoose have a body length between 39 and 47 cm, a tail length between 33 and 36 cm. They are dark brown in colour with black and white speckling throughout their coat. Around their head and shoulders their coat has a reddish tint and they have a black tip on their tail.

Habitat:

Yala National Park, Sri Lanka. Yala combines a strict nature reserve with a national park. Divided into 5 blocks, the park has a protected area of nearly 130,000 hectares of land consisting of light forests, scrubs, grasslands, tanks and lagoons. One block is currently opened to the public. Situated in Sri Lanka’s south-east hugging the panoramic Indian Ocean, Yala was designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1900 and was designated a national park in 1938. Ironically, the park was initially used as a hunting ground for the elite under British rule. Yala is home to 44 varieties of mammal and 215 bird species.

Notes:

After having lived with Cobras and being told the story of Rikki Tikki Tavi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikki-Tikki..., I always wanted to see a Mongoose. Today was my lucky day. We saw 2 at different times. This one was close enough (and stood still for a bit ) to take some shots of.