Mongoose

OK. Can't find a post about it. But after all these years, we saw our first mongoose on St. Thomas. Rare, or have I just missed them? It was dusk at the BW Caribe across from the airport. We were walking back up from the bar to the hotel and he was very interested in something up ahead of us.

Mongooses are all over JVD. They were imported from Jamaica in the late 1800s by the sugar cane growers to fight the rats. After they ate the rats they ate the lizards and snakes. Now they are working on the bird population.

Well the Mongooses were brought here from India to kill the snakes and then the rats. It took a couple of centuries for them to destroy the snakes because the snake like the rats were nocturnal hunters and the mongooses hunted by day.
And yes the mongooses are thriving through out the Caribbean.

cool...we'll be on the look out.

Yeah. We had a funny discussion. Some in our group thought it was a large ferret. Google was our friend to find it was a small indian mongoose.

Don't think I've ever seen a snake in the BVI's, but the kids did want to plant rubber snakes all over Sandy Cay after seeing the cactus there....THAT didn't go very far!

Yeah, Mongoose are one of the world's invasive species. Responsible for 1/4 of all extinctions for island-dwelling reptiles where they have been introduced. At least lionfish are tasty.... too bad there's not a good use for mongoose!

I guess we've not ever spent enough time shore-side on JVD or any of the BVI's. My only memory of seeing /watching Mongoose was when we were in Little Lameshur SJ, getting a kick out of seing them ransack the shore side trash barrel.

Having a lot of experience with the Maine Herring Gull and Black Backed Gull, we were actually happy to keep our lunch and dinner to ourselves aboard.

One time I went snorkeling at Francis Bay STJ and left my backpack with lunch in it unzipped. BIG mistake! Mongooses had a feast!

We saw one at Soggy Dollar one time. It had no fear at all.