Multimedia:
Listen to the mongooses:
During a visit to the Luisenpark in Mannheim, communication between banded mongooses could be recorded - would you
like to listen what they have to say?
Click to listen to the mongooses - do not forget to turn-on your speakers!
Mongooses in Literature:
Chilean winner of the Nobel-Prize Pablo Neruda reports in some chapters of his memoirs
"Pablo Neruda: Memoirs"
about his pet and travel-companion 'Kiria'. Kiria is a small mongoose, which bravely accomanies Neruda halfway
around the globe. In dark hours, Kiria reanimates Neruda's spirits an spends fondness and solace.
"Mahlangeni: Stories of a Game Ranger's Family"
by Kobie Krüger tells in a chapter about a little outcast mongoose, which lives in the vicinity of the Krüger's home in the middle of
the south-african Kruger-Nationalpark. Nearly every evening, the little mongoose comes to the terrace, where the family
is braiing (having a barbecue) for to get it's fair share of meat.
Until some day, when a mongoose-pack is roaming around the house and the little mongoose can integrate into the new
family. Soon later, it moves along with his new found company. This is sad for the Krüger's, but great for the little mongoose!
This book is very well written and easy to read. The authentic spirit and experiences of one of the last remaining wilderness
are very well transfered - it's fun to read this book!
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" is a small outcast
mongoose in India. An english family finds the mongoose besides the road, picks it up and takes the mongoose home to nurse it.
The mongoose enjoys it's life at the home of the english family, when some day two vicious snakes invade the
garden. As soon as they attack a family member, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi immediately is up on it's feet and fights the snakes. After a
long and arduous struggle, the mongoose defeats the snakes and the family is save! Now Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a real hero
in the family and is even more adored.
This is of course a children's book. But because of the amazingly lovable and charming writing, and very nice
illustrations, this book is very worth reading by adults as well!
Mongooses on DVD:
On the double-DVD
"Band of Brothers - The Mongoose Mob"
the BBC reports about life of a pack of banded mongooses in Uganda.
The pictures are brillant and extraordinary. The report
shows life, sorrows and joys of 'the brothers' over a longer period. The wildlife filmmaker have studied the banded mongooses accurately
in great detail!
This DVD stands out and is a highlight of animal reportages and very well worth seeing!
Mongooses as TV-stars:
German television channel 'VOX' aires a series called 'Wildes Wohnzimmer' (wild living-room) which shows mongoose-related
stories in sporadic intervals.
The reports about peoples caring for mongooses and meerkats are nice to watch, but they better should stress, that keeping mongooses
at home is no good idea.
They rarely point out, that the shown charakters are nursing-professionals caring for animals in emergency-cases: If
a mongoose is outcast or expulsed by it's parents and chances to survive are low, then it is great if there are some experts
to care for and nurse the pledging.
A TV-show should never animate peoples supposing, caring for exotic animals is an easy task! But 'Wildes Wohnzimmer' does and
that simply is not correct!
On occasions, the major TV-channels in Germany ARD and ZDF show some very nice reports about mongooses. They are very
attractice and informative (very often BBC-productions) and very nice to enjoy.
But sometimes, they exaggerate: A movie called the 'Busch-Dämon' ('Demon of the Jungle') turns out as a normal report
about a mongoose pack in southern Spain. Mongooses are carnivores and no more or less 'bloodthirsty' than any other carnivore.
What about this hyping title? Now, even the mongooses have to serve for the TV-rates...?
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