![\"Where](\"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMongooses are mostly found in Africa, where their range is widespread and diverse. Some mongooses<\/a> also live in southern parts of Asia and Europe, and they have been naturalized in other parts of the world as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mongooses come in several different subspecies that live nearly everywhere throughout the African continent. There is a good chance that they may have originated in Africa and spread to the other continents from there, though they are also considered native to parts of Europe and Asia.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mongooses are highly adaptable little creatures that can live in a variety of climates. This has been made clear by the intentional spreading of mongooses to other areas of the world, where humans have introduced them mostly to help cut down on local environmental pests such as rats and insects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wherever they end up, mongooses spread like wildfire, growing and multiplying and eating a variety of other animals, oftentimes becoming pests themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As noted above, mongooses can live in many different kinds of climates. Africa is diverse with its deserts, savannas, mountains, wetlands, and forests, and mongooses can be found living and thriving in all of these climates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mongooses simply adapt to whatever sort of environment they happen to find themselves in. They can tolerate a wide range of elevations and temperatures, a wide variety of flora and fauna, and will eat just about anything they can find, kill, scavenge, or steal.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s more, they have few natural predators in the wild, so wherever they spread, they are likely to multiply as quickly, if not more so, than they die off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mongooses have not been introduced in the lower 48. In fact, they are banned because they can be highly destructive of the native small fauna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though some people breed mongooses, and others keep and sell them as pets, doing any of these activities in the United States is illegal. Bringing mongooses into the U.S. can lead to steep fines and possible jail time. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, mongooses can already be found in Hawaii as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, where they were brought before the ban and became naturalized pests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which brings up another question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the State of Hawaii<\/a>, mongooses were originally brought from India in 1883, long before Hawaii became a state or even a U.S. territory. The sugar industry was responsible for having them introduced, as the hope was that mongooses would help cut down on rat populations in the sugar cane fields.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem is, rats and mice are generally nocturnal, while mongooses are diurnal. Since they are active at different times, the rat population did not take as big of a hit as people had hoped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, bringing mongooses to Hawaii proved to be a bad idea because the little carnivores spread rapidly and devoured much more than just rats. <\/strong>To this day, they continue to be a problem in Hawaii<\/a> because they eat the eggs, young, and adults of various endangered species, including sea turtles and a variety of ground-nesting birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mongooses typically live in burrows they build or find. They cluster together in large family colonies that build complex tunnels underground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mongooses build nests in little burrows they create which are connected by the networks of tunnels. Here they inbreed among their fellow colony mates and raise packs of young mongooses, which are known as pups.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Some species of mongoose don\u2019t build their own burrows but instead take over the burrows of other animals. They may move into burrows of animals they\u2019ve eaten, but most often they simply move into old abandoned burrows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though most mongooses live in burrows, there are some exceptions to this rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few mongoose species live in trees instead of burrows. They will make their nests inside hollowed out tree trunks and branches.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In some regions, mongooses have even been known to live in abandoned termite mounds. They do not build their own houses, nor do they nest in preexisting houses other than these termite mounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out this video of some mongooses creating a burrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat Climate Do Mongooses Live In?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Do Mongooses Live in the United States?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"do](\"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/6-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhy Were Mongooses Brought to Hawaii?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Do Mongooses Live in Burrows or Houses?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n