About Herpestes javanicus (É.Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1818)
The Javan mongoose, Herpestes javanicus, has back fur that ranges from ferruginous to sepia and rich tawny brown. It has short hairs covering its ears, and a tapering tail. It is native to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Peninsular Malaysia, and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java, where it lives at elevations up to 1,800 meters, or 5,900 feet. Its presence in China is uncertain. Camera traps in Thailand have recorded Javan mongooses in a variety of habitats, including degraded mixed deciduous forest, dry evergreen forest, dry dipterocarp forest, abandoned plantations, and pineapple fields. The Javan mongoose is mostly solitary; males sometimes form social groups and share burrows. Female Javan mongooses have a gestation period of up to 49 days, and give birth to litters of 2 to 5 young. Males may reach sexual maturity as early as 4 months of age. Javan mongooses eat mostly insects, but are opportunistic feeders that also consume crabs, frogs, spiders, scorpions, snakes, small mammals, birds, and eggs.
