Mongoose

Mongooses are like weasels. In the wild they usually live up to four years. They can weigh anywhere from 4 pounds to 12.

Mongooses originated from southeast Asia. Mongoose were imported by the sugar industry to control rats in cane fields in Hawaii. A man in 1833 brought 72 mongooses from Jamaca to the Hamakua coast. They then raised them and their offspring were sent to plantations on other islands. Even though they were brought over here to lower the rat population, they really don't have any affect on the rats at all. The mongooses eat birds and bird eggs more than rats.

Mongooses carry leptospirosis and their droppings go into our streams and into our water supplies. They are not only destroying our native birds, they are also hurting humans. They are mostly a problem in Hawaii. In Hawaii the mongooses have no natural predator so most of the mongoose control has to be done by humans. They have been using traps, poising, and shooting them to lower their population. Even with us doing these things they still cannot keep the mongoose population down. In Hawaii, they create a $50 million worth of damage.

By: Makenna John son and Alyssa Boyer