Type:Mammal
Diet:Carnivore
Average life span in captivity:20 years
Size: Head and body, 7 to 25 in (18 to 64 cm); Tail, 6 to 21 in (15 to 53 cm)
Weight:12 oz to 11 lb (340 g to 5 kg)
Protection status: Threatened
Did you know? Mummified mongooses and images of the species have been discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs.
'Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:
Where do mongooses live?
Key: Yellow = typical mongoose territory
Riki-Tikki-Tavi the cartoon
Narrated by Orson Wells, this animated cartoon is an adaptation of a short story titled "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" from The Jungle Book (1894) by Rudyard Kipling. The story focuses on an English family in India who discover a mongoose half drowned from a storm and decide to keep it. Rikki-Tikki soon finds himself confronted by two murderous cobras, Nag and Nagaina.
Journal Assignment
- Read up to the end of page 13. What are the main events that have happened up to that point? Predict what will happen next.
- Finish reading the story. Were your predictions accurate? Discuss how your predictions were or were not accurate.
- Describe the most important event in the story. Give at least three reasons why you think it is the most important event.
- List three new vocabulary words from your reading. What can you tell about them from their structure? What can you tell about them from their context?
- Write a question to ask a classmate about the story.
- List three new vocabulary words from your reading. What can you tell about them from their structure? What can you tell about them from their context?
