Indian Grey Mongoose Research Paper

Imagine in the extremely hot and dry Arabian Desert in south East Asia two potentially very dangerous animals engage in combat. The two animals are the incredibly venomous King Cobra and the other animal is the very agile Indian Gray Mongoose. Which animal will be victorious? Scientists have studied the traits and adaptations of the animals for centuries. If a King Cobra and an Indian Grey Mongoose were to engage in combat then based on the information the Indian Grey Mongoose would be victorious. Evidence from many sources states this conclusion due to the mongooses many defenses, precise attacks, and combined skills the mongoose uses for both attacks and defenses. To begin, the mongoose has many defenses that will protect the mongoose in the fight against the cobra. Grolier Online (2015) states that “Mongooses are… victorious because of their… thick coat.” This means that the cobra would have a

Campbell (2015) states that cobras can “spray venom from their fangs accurately”. This may help in combat during fight against other animals but the mongoose is very agile and could evade this easily. The text from Klum (2001) states that cobras have “enough [neurotoxin] to kill an elephant with a single bite.” Although this may be true the mongoose has thick fur and the cobra has short fangs so the cobra will have a difficult time penetrating the skin. Campbell (2015) wrote cobras can spread “their necks into a hood when threatened.” The mongoose is a notorious cobra fighter so the mongoose would not be frightened. In conclusion, information about the Indian Grey Mongoose leads me to believe that because of the mongoose’s defenses, attacks, and combined ability’s the mongoose would win. Clearly, if a King cobra were to fight a mongoose the cobra would be defeated. I have learned not to judge a book by its cover because the cute and furry mongoose ended up being very