THE MUNGOOS, OR ICHNEUMON.[80]
The Ichneumons, or Mungooses, form a well-defined genus of Weasel-like animals, with semi-plantigrade feet, five toes provided with somewhat retractile claws, and long tails. The species now under consideration is found in Southern India as well as “in the North-west Provinces and the Punjab, and throughout the Deccan up to the Nerbudda River. It frequents alike the open country and low jungles, being found in dense hedgerows, thickets, holes in banks, &c., and it is very destructive to such birds as frequent the ground,” for it only sucks the blood, and so kills many birds before it is satisfied.
It is sixteen or seventeen inches long, its tail fourteen, and is of a tawny yellowish-grey colour. The head is marked with reddish and yellowish rings, so arranged as to produce a resultant iron-grey hue.
There is a curious superstition about the Mungoos, of which Sir Emerson Tennent says:“I have found universally that the natives of Ceylon attach no credit to the European story of the Mungoos (H. griseus) resorting to some plant, which no one has yet succeeded in identifying, as an antidote against the bite of the venomous Serpents on which it preys. There is no doubt that, in its conflicts with Cobra di Capello and poisonous Snakes, which it attacks with as little hesitation as the harmless ones, it may be seen occasionally to retreat, and even to retire into the jungle, and, it is added, to eat some vegetable; but a gentleman, who had been a frequent observer of its exploits, assures me that most usually the herb it resorted to was grass, and if this were not at hand, almost any other plant that grew near seemed equally acceptable. Hence has probably arisen the long list of plants, such as theOphioxylon serpentinum[81]andOphiorhiza mungos,[82]theAristolochia indica,[83]theMimosa octandria,[84]and others, each of which has been asserted to be the Ichneumon’s specific; whilst their multiplicity is demonstrative of the non-existence of any one in particular on which the animal relies as an antidote. Were there any truth in the tale as regards the Mungoos, it would be difficult to understand why creatures, such as the Secretary-bird and the Falcon, and others, which equally destroy Serpents, should be left defenceless, and the Ichneumon alone provided with a prophylactic. Besides, were the Ichneumon inspired by that courage which would result from the consciousness of security, it would be so indifferent to the bite of the Serpent that we might conclude that, both in its approaches and its assaults, it would be utterly careless as to the precise mode of its attack. Such, however, is far from being the case; and, next to its audacity, nothing could be more surprising than the adroitness with which it escapes the spring of the Snake under a due sense of danger, and the cunning with which it makes its arrangements to leap upon the back and fasten its teeth in the neck of the Cobra. It is this display of instinctive ingenuity that Lucan celebrates when he paints the Ichneumon diverting the attention of the Asp by the motion of his bushy tail,[85]and then seizing it in the midst of its confusion.”
ICHNEUMONS.
ICHNEUMONS.
“The mystery of the Mungoos and its antidote has been referred to the supposition that there may be some peculiarity in its organisation which renders it proof against the poison of the Serpent. It remains for future investigation to determine how far this conjecture is founded on truth; and whether in the blood of the Mungoos there exists any element or quality which acts as a prophylactic. Such exceptional provisions are not without precedent in the animal economy. The Hornbill feeds with impunity on the deadly fruit of the Strychnos;[86]the milky juice of some species of Euphorbia, which is harmless to Oxen, is invariably fatal to the Zebra; and the Tsetse Fly, the pest of South Africa, whose bite is mortal to the Ox, the Dog, and the Horse, is harmless to man and the untamed creatures of the forest.”