Trivia about mongooses:
Mongooses on stamps:
Various countries of Africa put out sets of stamps with charming animal motifs.
Of all the lions, giraffes, buffalos and leopards sometimes even a mongoose can be depicted on a stamp
and adorn some letters.
Mongooses in the german army (Bundeswehr):
German army (Bundeswehr) has a preference to name vehicles within their fleet after ravenous predators: The larger the vehicle, the stronger
the animal. So there is a wide selection of names choosen from 'warthog' up to well known tanks like 'Leopard' and in WWII-known 'Tiger'.
And there is the smaller
'Mungo', an armoured, unarmed multi-purpose
truck, that proves pretty well in the current tasks in Afghanistan.
Mongooses as wall plugs:
In Switzerland there is a manufacturer of dowels, called
'Mungo'. They have a
very nice company logo! The name is certainly an indication to the powerful bite known of mongooses as a reverence
to the powerful wall-anchors they produce.
Biking mongooses:
American manufacturer
'Mongoose' produces parts for BMX bikes and
Mountain bikes. The choice of the name for it's products should certainly refer to the agility of the mongoose!
Mongoose fighting Cuba:
With
'Operation Mongoose' American CIA intended in 1964
to get rid of Fidel Castro on other occasions, after landing on Cuba failed. The project cost a lot of money and in times
occupied several hundred peoples until 'Operation Mongoose' was cancelled by president Lynden B. Johnson.
Mungos als V.I.A. - Very Important Animals:
In the ancient Egypt of the Pharaohs, mongoose were admired, adored and even considered religious deities, as they are smart, ravenous, nimble and courageous.
Their skill to combat even snakes was as welcome as the courage to crack and eat eggs of the hated crocodiles.
So it happens that depictions of mongooses adorn some grave chambers of the Pharaohs.
Mongooses and Buddhist deities:
Depictions of the Buddhist god Vaisravana, also known as the god of prosperity, there often is a mongoose sitting on
Vaisravana's left arm spitting jewels out of the mouth.
The mongoose is the enemy of snakes, which in Buddhist
mythology are greedy and hateful.
By spewing precious stones and jewels, the mongoose shows the symbolized generosity of Vaisravana.
Once again an indication of the good-natured and honourable character of the mongoose - and besides: Who wouldn't like having
a mongoose sitting on his arm spitting jewels!?
Mongoose-Hauntings:
In the 30s of last century, there was a famous report about 'The Dalby Spook' in Great Britain:
On a farm,
'Gef' the talking mongoose haunted a barn, while Poltergeist-activities were reported.
Towards the local family, Gef behaved mostly friendly. However, neighbours in the vicinity were badly harassed.
The British press really liked the story, while meanwhile after decades, even a
book was published in 2017.
Soon scientists carefully examined the myth. But apart from some paw prints, which supposedly should not originate
from a mongoose, they found no evidence for 'Gef's' existence.
But even on her deathbed in 2005, the old farmer's wife 'Voirrey Irving' vowed that she did not fantasize Gef but that
he does in fact exist until today. Strange things happen sometimes, somewhere ...
Begging mongooses:
Everybody knows cranky kids at the supermarket checkout: Colourful candy bars and sweets are simply
too tempting, and with loud crying, a share of goodies is demanded.
Only the toughest parents do not give in at this point of shopping: The screaming straines the nerves of the people in the queue
enormously and before you have the looks of social discontent on you, you turn in, and the coveted candy
is handed out ...
Similarly, this also works with the mongooses: 'Inspired' by persistent whining, the adults
pull more and more delicacies out of the sand for theier little rascals. This ensures peace for a little while, but of course, there is new whining to come, soon...
It's a fact: Even among mongooses, anyone who stands out loudly and rude, gets the largest share of the pie.
We owe this insights to
the study of Matthew
Bell of Cambridge University.
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