Ranger watches mongoose hunt — and photographs first-of-its kind interaction in India
At a nature reserve in southern India, an “agile” mongoose set out in search of its next meal. Its hunt caught the attention of a nearby ranger — and led to a first-of-its kind photo.
Chikkanaragund Harshakumar was watching wildlife at the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in December 2022 when he spotted a ruddy mongoose, a type of carnivorous mammal, according to a study published Oct. 26 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Threatened Taxa.
Harshakumar watched the “solitary male” mongoose climb an 8-foot-tall tree, poke its upper body into a tree hole “roosting site” and emerge with a small pipistrelle bat, the study said. The ranger snapped a photo of the successful hunt.
The photo shows the black and brown mongoose perched on a tree. Its fluffy tail hangs down and ends in a black tip. In its mouth is a small reddish brown bat.
Harshakumar’s photo was the first documented instance of a ruddy mongoose eating a pipistrelle bat, the study said. The behavior is likely opportunistic.
Pipistrelle bats are a group of small bats found on several continents. They’re common prey for “cats, birds, and snakes,” but are “rarely” eaten by mongooses, researchers said.
The ruddy mongoose stayed in the branches eating the bat for about 10 minutes then “speedily climbed down the tree and vanished into a grassy bush nearby,” the study said.
Researchers saw other mongooses at Nagarahole Tiger Reserve but did not see the unusual bat-hunting behavior again.
Nagarahole Tiger Reserve is in the southern state of Karnataka and a roughly 1,400-mile drive southwest of New Delhi.
The research team included Chikkanaragund Harshakumar, Rajesh Puttaswamaiah and K.S. Chetan Nag.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Ranger watches mongoose hunt — and photographs first-of-its kind interaction in India."
