How Does This Tiny Mongoose Kill King Cobras?
[Music] this little critter is tougher than it looks it's so tough it can take on lethal predators capable of killing a human with one venomous strike say hello to the mongoose hi mongoose now say hello to this king cobra if you dare the mongoose might seem adorable but it's actually one of nature's craftiest assassins why isn't it afraid of a cobra's lethal bite why does it use scent to communicate and how does it kill such a dangerous foe at first glance it's easy to confuse the mongoose with a weasel but it's actually more closely related to the meerkat like timon from the lion king it's part of the fellow formia family which means cat-like carnivore the smallest of the mongoose family is the dwarf mongoose measuring in at a dainty 17 to 24 centimeters with a 15 to 20 centimeter tail the white-tailed mongoose on the other hand grows between 48 to 71 centimeters and can have a tail as long as 47 centimeters you can find them scattered across africa as well as in southern asia and europe carnivorous by nature most mongooses prefer rodents reptiles and birds but some species will also eat plants and fruit eggs are also a favorite mongoose food the malagasy narrow striped mongoose will lay on its side facing a rock and push an egg against it to crack it open the mongoose is not only fearless but smart it's the slender mongoose and grey mongoose that will boldly pursue the lethal king cobra mongooses will fearlessly provoke any cobras they encounter their speed and agility allows them to dodge a snake's attack once a cobra begins to tire and slow down the mongoose performs its finishing move by chomping its skull like a potato chip tko that looks like it hurt close to eighty percent of these mongoose versus cobra battles end with the mongoose as the victor culvers aren't tracking the stats but they usually do whatever they can to avoid a mongoose in the first place while a king cobra bite can easily kill an adult human in less than 30 minutes the mongoose has no reaction to its venom this is because it has a unique genetic mutation that doesn't recognize the venom's neurotoxins preventing the poison from paralyzing its muscles this allows the mongoose to survive bites and happily munch on the venomous reptile once a fight is over but the mongoose's survival skills go beyond their ability to take down predators that most animals would never touch some species like the banded mongoose communicate using scent secreted from their anal glands they live in small packs called mobs and scent is how they recognize each other dominant males will leave their scent on each family member which is called scent marking this is how they know which mongooses belong to their mob and which are outsiders who are not welcome they're very exclusive bunch you gotta fill out an application and everything the band in mongoose also makes various grunts that are used to talk with each other these sounds have been compared to that of consonants and vowels anyone down to learn mongoosees just me okay unfortunately some mongoose species are threatened due to deforestation caused by urbanization and farming air pollution and climate change are major issues too and their love for eggs means they often raid farms making them a nuisance to farmers who cull them they're even threatened by poachers who eat and sell their meat or use them as a roadside attraction oh poor mongoose if you think the mongoose is tough you should learn about the brawny honey badger in another episode feasting on king cobras and communicating with scent is what mongooses do and that's what makes them crazy creatures
