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Mongoose

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  Animal class: Mammals – (They are warm-blooded (the body temperature stays about the same temperature without help from the sun), breathe air with lungs, have a 4 chamber heart, have 3 bones in their inner ears, have vertebrae (a backbone or spine), have hair or fur (even whales and dolphins have some hair near their mouths), almost all species have a live birth, but 2 species lay eggs (the platypus and the echidna), all females produce (their bodies make) milk for their young, most have 4 legs or for humans, 2 arms and 2 legs, sizes range from the Bumblebee bat at 1 in (3 cm) to the Blue whale at 100 ft (30 m)) (Examples: Whales, people, dogs, and elephants. There are about 6,500 different species.)
• Diet: Omnivore (They eat plants and meat): Nuts, berries, frogs, black mambas and other types of snakes, seeds, eggs, worms, and some birds
• Lifespan: About nine years in the wild and about 20 in captivity
• Predators: Black mambas and other types of snakes, large birds, leopards, jackals, and storks
• Speed : About 20 mph (32 kph)
• Size: 7 in-2 ft (18-60 cm)
• Species: There are about 34 different species
• Status: Threatened (most of the 34 species)
• Weight: 1-12 lbs (0.5-5 kg)
• Where do they live?: They live in Africa and some parts of Asia
• They live in many different environments. Some live in deserts, grasslands, close to rivers, and Tropical forests. They like to burrow and make tunnels for themselves, and some like to be in trees.
• They can fight a venomous snake like the Black mamba or a Cobra and win. Mongooses are immune to their venom, which will not affect them when bitten.
• They can also swim and dive underwater to look for food.
• Mongooses have been used to help with pest control (snakes and mice) on some tropical islands (not their native habitat) like Hawaii. Unfortunately, this did not work in many cases, and they killed many of the native species and caused more trouble than the snakes and mice. Many countries banned them for this reason.