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The mongoose in Australia: failed introduction
of a biological control agent
David Peacock
A,C
and Ian Abbott
B
A
Natural Resources Management Biosecurity Unit, Biosecurity SA, GPO Box 1671, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
B
School of Earth and Environment, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western
Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6007, Australia and Science Division, Department of Environment
and Conservation, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, Bentley, WA 6983, Australia.
C
Corresponding author. Email: david.peacock@sa.gov.au
Abstract. We reviewed historical literature and obtained nearly 200 records of the mongoose in Australia up to 1942.
Although the earliest importations (from 1855) were for its snake-killing prowess, often as entertainment, its perceived
potential as a control agent for the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) plague saw concerted introductions made in New
South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, primarily in 1883 and 1884. At least 1000 mongoose were released to control
rabbits at 14 reported release locations in these states. As many as 700 of these mongoose were reported released in one New
South Wales rabbit-control trial. These numbers indicate that insufficient propagule pressure does not explain why Australia
escaped the additional devastation of an established mongoose population. The only reason stated for the failure of the
mongoose releases to control rabbits is destruction of the mongoose by rabbit trappers, both inadvertently and in seeking to
protect their employment. Unfavourable climate was implicated by CLIMATCH modelling in the failure of all releases,
especially those into semiarid areas such as western New South Wales. No contemporary detail could be located of the
reported 1884 failed introduction of ‘numbers’of mongoose into North Queensland to control rats in sugarcane plantations.
Additional keywords: biocontrol, bounty, Herpestes,Oryctolagus cuniculus, pest, rabbit.
Introduction
The small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus, formerly
H. javanicus: Veron et al.2007; Gilchrist et al.2009) has been
so successful and devastating an invader when introduced to
other lands that it has been nominated as the fourth worst invasive
mammal in the world (Global Invasive Species Database 2005).
The success of the 1872 introduction of H. auropunctatus to
Jamaica, reflected in its establishment across the island from
four male and five female founders, and subsequent destruction
of cane field rats, is reported in Espeut (1882). Similarly, the
Indian grey mongoose (H. edwardsii) and the ichneumon
(H. ichneumon) have also been successfully introduced to
locations and habitats remote from their native geographical
ranges (Long 2003). It is therefore remarkable that the few
accounts known of the introduction of ‘mongoose’into Australia
report their failure (Palmer 1898; Anonymous 1946; reviewed in
Rolls 1969; Long 2003).
In an attempt to improve understanding of the failed Australian
introductions of this proposed biocontrol, and of the determinants
of success and failure in vertebrate introductions in general
(Simberloff 2009), a search was made of non-scientific literature
for overlooked additional details of the reported failed
introductions, as well as any additional information of relevance.
The aim of this research was therefore to locate details of the
actual mongoose species introduced into Australia, ascertain
the numbers introduced (propagule pressure), determine the
locations of release sites and thus the habitats likely to have been
experienced by mongoose, consider causes of mortality, and
evaluate the contribution of these factors to the failure of the
‘mongoose’to establish in Australia, in comparison with its
establishment elsewhere.
Methods
Historical literature including newspapers, Parliamentary debates
(Hansard), and Government Gazettes were searched during
previous research (Abbott 2002,2008; Peacock 2009; Peacock
et al.2010). The Herald (Melbourne) and The Times (London)
were reviewed online for the periods 1840–1890 and 1840–1950
respectively. Two widely circulating rural newspapers, The
Australasian (Melbourne) and The Western Mail (Perth) were
searched for the periods 1866–1901 and 1905–1940 respectively.
Comprehensive indexes of news items in The Argus (Melbourne)
for the period 1860–1869 (Suter 1999) were also reviewed.
New sources of information accessed for this study were the
National Library of Australia’s online newspaper digitisation
website (http://ndpbeta.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home, last accessed
CSIRO 2010 10.1071/ZO10043 0004-959X/10/040205
CSIRO PUBLISHING Short Communication
www.publish.csiro.au/journals/ajz Australian Journal of Zoology, 2010, 58, 205–227
31 December 2009), covering the period 1803–1954. The
Manning Index of South Australian History, listing materials
located by the historian Geoffrey Manning, was also searched.
Reflecting the variety of names for which mongoose were known,
the keywords searched for were mongoose, mungoose, mongous,
mongoos, mongheer, monghoor, and ichneumon.
All accounts that discuss the presence, importation, or release
of mongoose in Australia were tabulated (Appendices 1and 2,
summarised in Table 1). As replicated reporting of a news article
or advertisement was frequent, only original citations or
significant variants were included. Only a few of the accounts that
discussed the release into the wild of mongoose provided a
geographical location. However, as these are significant due to the
numbers released and account details, they have been mapped
(Fig. 1).
Australian museum collections were searched for any
Herpestes specimens collected in Australia or intercepted from a
ship (Kitchener and Vicker 1981; Online Zoological Collections
of Australian Museums (OZCAM), searched July 2009).
A climate-match analysis, based on temperature and rainfall,
was undertaken for H. edwardsii using CLIMATCH (Bureau of
Rural Sciences 2009). Source climate station data, utilising the
‘World Stations’dataset, were selected on the basis of the native
range of H. edwardsii defined by Long (2003). CLIMATCH
scores between 0, the least adequate match with source climate
station data, and 8, the most satisfactory match, were calculated
using climatic data for Australia. Additional details of the climate
parameters and methodology of CLIMATCH are available in
Crombie et al.(2008) and Bomford et al.(2009).
Results
In addition to the known accounts (Palmer 1898; Anonymous
1946; reviewed in Rolls 1969; Long 2003), numerous additional
records were located that demonstrate that imports were intended
either for rabbit control (releases into wild, Appendix 1) or for
exhibition to the public in menageries, zoos, or snake fights, for
domestic pets, and for control of domestic pests (Appendix 2).
A summary of these results is detailed in Table 1.
The earliest record found of the mongoose in Australia is 1855
(record 55/1 in Appendix 2). This, together with those in
Appendix 2from 1859 (records 59/1, 59/2, 59/3, 59/7, 59/9), the
1860s (records 60/2, 61/1, 62/2, 63/2, 63/3, 65/1, 67/1, 68/1, 68/2,
68/3, 69/1, 69/2, 69/3, 69/4), 1870s (70/1, 72/1, 73/1, 78/1) and
1880s (81/1, 81/3, 82/1, 86/1) primarily relate to the discussion,
importation or use of the mongoose as snake-fighting
entertainment or for potential biocontrol of snakes. The primary
period for mongoose accounts in relation to rabbit control were
Table 1. Summary of early records of mongoose in Australia related to their release into the wild as a biological control agent for agricultural pests
(accounts in Appendix 1; Record numbers refer to account number and year: e.g. 83/17 refers to the 17th record from 1883)
In assessing the number of mongoose released and their release locations, apparent duplicate accounts have been excluded. For this and apparent under-reporting of
mongoose accounts (e.g. 84/17 states ‘consignments were arriving almost every week’) minima are stated. Accounts are summarised under biological
control–related topics, or under most common topics. n= the number of: mongoose released, release events, release locations, unconfirmed releases or release
failures blamed on rabbiters
nAccounts and details
Topic
Minimum number of mongoose reported to have
been released in Australia
~1000 83/17 =60 (Mulurulu), 83/23 = 42 (NSW), 84/1= 1 (Cobden), 84/2= 52 (Torrumbarry),
84/7 = 12 (NSW), 84/9 = 100 (Morgan), 84/10 = 10 (Vic.), 84/12 = ~50 (?Vic.), 84/22 = 60
(Paringa), 87/1 = ~700 (western NSW by David Chrystal), 88/1 = 28 (Teryawynia)
Minimum number of reported release events 14 83/12, 83/15, 83/16, 83/18, 83/21, 83/22, 84/1, 84/3, 84/9, 84/10, 84/12, 84/17 = 700
[also states ‘consignments were arriving almost every week’], 84/22
Minimum number of reported release locations 14 83/12 (Torrumbarry Station), 83/13 (Euston), 83/16 and 85/7 (western Victoria), 83/18
(island), 84/1 (Cobden), 84/2 and 88/2 (Mulurulu), 84/9 (Morgan), 84/22 (Paringa),
84/24 (?Johnstone River), 85/5 (Wentworth), 87/1 (Balranald and Wilcannia), 88/1
(Teryawynia), 03/1 (Yudnapinna)
Unconfirmed releases and/or import numbers 10 83/13, 83/14, 83/15, 83/16, 83/19, 84/3, 84/10, 84/12, 85/7, 03/1
Failure of the mongoose to persist blamed on
trapping by rabbiters
10 83/20, 83/24, 83/25, 84/1, 84/20, 85/7, 87/3, 87/4, 88/1, 88/2
Accounts that recommended or detailed the release of mongoose in Australia, or detailed the protection of released mongoose
To control rabbits 34 77/1, 78/2, 81/1, 83/1, 83/3, 83/7, 83/10, 83/12, 83/18, 83/20, 83/21, 83/22, 83/23, 83/24,
83/25, 83/26, 84/5, 84/9, 84/12, 84/19, 84/20, 84/25, 84/26, 85/7, 85/8, 89/1, 91/1, 92/1,
01/1, 02/1, 06/1, 07/1
To control rats 3 83/3, 84/24, 85/4
To control problem native wildlife such
as bandicoots
3 78/1, 81/1, 83/3
Other proposed benefits 3 83/4, 84/4, 84/5
Accounts that opposed the release of mongoose
Because of potential harm they could cause
to poultry
11 83/5, 83/7, 83/8, 83/11, 84/4, 84/6, 84/14, 84/23, 85/5, 00/1, 07/1
Because of potential harm they could cause to lambs 3 84/6, 00/1, 07/1
Because of generalised potential harm 13 83/5, 83/6, 83/7, 84/4, 84/6, 84/16, 84/17, 84/18, 84/21, 85/1, 85/8, 00/1, 07/1, 35/1
Considered climatically or physically unsuited
or not needed
5 83/2, 83/9, 85/2, 85/6, 24/1
206 Australian Journal of Zoology D. Peacock and I. Abbott
the years 1883 and 1884 (both with 26 accounts in Appendix 1).
The temporal distribution of accounts is shown in Fig. 2.
Most detail was found for the release of mongoose into the
western ‘Riverina’district of New South Wales as a biocontrol
agent for the European rabbit. Although the numbers being
transported and/or released were often not reported, the number
of release events and the numbers of mongoose liberated are
surprisingly high for a species that failed to establish. For
example, in Appendix 1, 12 mongoose (84/7), 28 mongoose onto
Teryawynia Station (88/1), ‘upwards of 50 mongeese’(84/12), 60
mongoose deployed at Paringa Station (84/22), ~240 mongoose
(84/3, 84/5), 500 mongoose onto Mulurulu Station (88/2) and
700–800 mongoose (84/5, 84/17, 87/1).
The search of the mammal collections in Australian museums
found 24 Herpestes specimens, representing five species. This
material includes:
*11 H. edwardsii specimens in the Australian Museum
(A.17670, July 1883, source = museum director; B.5901,
January 1885, source = unknown; M.26, September 1886,
source = B. F. Purcell, locality = Ceylon [Sri Lanka], sent to
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Tasmania; M.1019,
December 1895, source = unknown; M.1094, May 1896,
source = ‘H. C. Purcell’[Brisbane Dr/surgeon?]; M.1498,
April 1900, source = ‘Zoological Society’; M.2583, August
1915, source = ‘Zoological Society’; M.2888, September
1920, source = H. Whyte, locality = southern India; PA.1476,
~1862, source = unknown; PA.1477, pre-1862, source =
110°E 120°E 130°E 140°E 150°E
110°E 120°E 130°E 140°E 150°E
10°S
20°S
30°S
40°S
10°S
20°S
30°S
40°S
Fig. 1. Locations referred to in mongoose biocontrol release accounts (Appendix 1) overlain over the ‘CLIMATCH’climate-match analysis for
H. edwardsii in Australia. Areas shaded for Climate7 are locations with the highest climatic suitability, as compared with climate data for the natural
range of H. edwardsii. Location coordinates were obtained from Geoscience Australia website (http://www.ga.gov.au/map/names). A, ‘Yudnapinna’;
B, ‘Anlaby’; C, Morgan; D, Paringa; E, Wentworth; F, ‘Teryawynia’; G, Wilcannia; H, ‘Mulurulu’; I, Euston; J, Balranald; K, ‘Murray Downs’;
L, ‘Torrumbarry’; M, Echuca; N, Cobden; O, Colac; P, Steiglitz; Q, Staughton Vale; R, Johnstone River.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1850–55
1856–60
1861–65
1866–70
1871–75
1876–80
1881–85
1886–90
1891–95
1896–00
1901–05
1906–10
1911–15
1916–20
1921–25
1926–30
1931–35
1936–40
1941–45
Number of accounts
Year ran
g
e
Biocontrol accounts (Appendix 1)
Non-biocontrol accounts (Appendix 2)
Fig. 2. Temporal distribution of mongoose accounts, comparing the
numbers of accounts discussing the import or use of mongoose as a biological
control agent for agricultural pests (Appendix 1), and those discussing their
import or use for other purposes (Appendix 2).
Failed introductions of mongoose to Australia Australian Journal of Zoology 207
Madras Museum; PA.1478, pre-1862, source = Madras
Museum, sent to Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery).
*three H. ichneumon in the Australian Museum (M.1523,
July 1900, source = ‘Zoological Society’; M.24080, July 1991,
source = Tel Aviv University Zoo; M.34265, May 1999,
source = unknown).
*two H. javanicus in the Australian Museum (A.10580,
September 1881, source = purchased; PA.1479, ~1871,
locality = Java, Indonesia).
*one H. pulverulentus in the Australian Museum (PA.1480,
~1871, source = exchanged with Hamburg Museum).
*two H. sanguinea in the South Australian Museum (M01027
and M01028) and sourced from Somaliland, Africa, in 1898.
*five Herpestes for which the species is unknown, in the
collection of the Australian Museum (A.12823, April 1882,
source = Mr Asher? (82/2); A.13157, August 1882,
source = Bradley, Newton and Lamb (82/3); B.2691, July
1884, source = Zoological Society [of New South Wales?]
(June; 84/7?); M.107, October 1887, source = Miller;
M.38592, December 2005). September 1884 ‘Zoological
Society’donation of ‘a mongoose’(84/8) isn’t held.
It is not known if any of the above-listed museum material was
collected from the wild in Australia.
The climate-match analysis undertaken for H. edwardsii is
shown in Fig. 1. Bomford et al.(2009: 194) found that Climate7
scores ‘gave the best discrimination between successful and failed
species’. Utilising this level as the cut-off, none of the reported
release sites, except perhaps the reported release into the cane
fields of north Queensland (Anonymous 1946), equalled or
exceeded this climate-match level (Fig. 1). Areas of Australia
which had Climate7 scores for H. edwardsii were the northern
half of Western Australia, most of the Northern Territory and the
western half of Queensland (Fig. 1).
Discussion
We had expected to find records of mongoose present in Australia
soon after European settlement (1788), at least as household pets
or being used to control vermin in and around houses. We also
hypothesised that mongoose would have been used in rabbit
control no earlier than the late 1860s, when rabbits first became an
economic problem in Victoria, following their release in 1859. In
both situations, however, the first records dated from much later,
namely 1855 and 1883 respectively (Fig. 2).
One record (84/21 in Appendix 1) remains both enigmatic and
problematic through its vagueness. This is the 1884 supposed
introduction of mongoose into north Queensland (Anonymous
1946). Our concerted attempts to verify this, by reviewing
historical accounts of the sugarcane industry in Queensland,
have proven unsuccessful. We provisionally accept the record
as plausible, as it is known that rat plagues in sugarcane
plantations in the Johnstone River district in ~1885 had
necessitated the release of cats (Abbott 2008: 14). Another source
noted the release of ferrets but offered no details concerning
location or date (Queensland Parliamentary Debates, Legislative
Assembly, 14.8.1889, vol. 58, p. 1120). In 1888–89 there was a
detailed investigation of failure in the sugarcane industry (Royal
Commission 1889). This included questioning of witnesses
about vermin and the remedies tried to control them. Cane rats are
mentioned as a pest only in the Mackay and Bundaberg districts,
and control was effected with poison. There is no mention of
releases of mongoose. A later account (04/1 in Appendix 1) states
that no releases took place.
Which species of mongoose were imported into Australia?
Mongoose (Family Herpestidae) comprise 34 species found
naturally in southern and south-east Asia and Africa (Gilchrist
et al.2009). We found only one account (76/1 in Appendix 1)of
an African species of herpestid being brought into Australia for
rabbit control. This is surprising, given that Cape Town was a
frequent port of call for ships voyaging between Britain and
Australia before the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.
Nearly all of the stated source localities for mongoose being
imported into Australia were India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
(Appendices 1and 2), with Calcutta or India being stated 11 times
in Appendix 1(83/8: 100 mongoose; 83/4: 39 mongoose; 83/3: 9
mongoose; 83/14, 83/18: 100 mongoose; 83/21: ~40 mongoose;
84/7: 12 mongoose; 84/9: 100 mongoose; 84/10: 10 mongoose;
84/12: >50 mongoose; 84/17: 700 mongoose; 88/2: 500
mongoose), and Colombo, Ceylon being mentioned four times in
Appendix 1(83/16: some; 84/3, 84/5: 240 mongoose; 84/17:
‘consignments were arriving almost every week’; 84/19:
advertisement for procurement). Referring to New South Wales
releases and the release of ‘more than a hundred individuals ...
near the Murray River’(perhaps an allusion to 84/25), Palmer
(1898) refers to the released animals as being ‘the common
mongoose of India (Herpestes mungo or H. griseus)’, which is
actually H. edwardsii (Wilson and Reeder 2005). However, as
this species was also erroneously stated to have been introduced to
Jamaica, the confusion with H. auropunctatus may also apply to
statements about Australia. H. edwardsii is one of six species of
mongoose (with H. fuscus,H. auropunctatus,H. smithii,H. urva
and H. vitticollis) that Gilchrist et al.(2009) list as resident in India
and Sri Lanka. Support for H. edwardsii as the principal species
introduced to Australia is found in it being by far the most
abundant Australian museum specimen (n= 11, compared with
three H. ichneumon and two H. javanicus). Hinton and Dunn
(1967) suggest, without further information, that H. edwardsii or
H. smithii are the most likely species that were released in north
Queensland (Anonymous 1946).
In conclusion, it appears likely that more than one species of
mongoose was imported to Australia, consistent with the
accounts presented in Appendices 1and 2. However, there is
support for H. edwardsii as the principal species introduced to
Australia, primarily as a biocontrol agent for the European rabbit.
As the perceived success of the Jamaican introduction appears
to have stimulated the Australian rabbit biocontrol releases
(The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser,
8 February 1883: 3; The Australasian, 16 June 1883: 760), it
should have provided support for using the same species,
H. auropunctatus. With Australian releases beginning in 1883,
the year following Espeut (1882), it is of note that in that year
H. auropunctatus was introduced directly to the Fijian islands
from India (Long 2003), the stated source location, or specifically
Calcutta as per Espeut (1882), for many of the Australian
accounts. However, notwithstanding any notion at the time of
‘a mongoose is a mongoose and any will do’, born of the
desperation of a seemingly unstoppable rabbit plague, it may have
208 Australian Journal of Zoology D. Peacock and I. Abbott
been that the larger size of H. edwardsii (~890–1790 g cf.
312–1300 g: Long 2003) was seen to make it a more worthy
biocontrol agent for the European rabbit, compared with
H. auropunctatus and the smaller rats of Jamaica. Gilchrist et al.
(2009: 280) describe H. edwardsii as appearing ‘to be principally
vertebrate feeders’. They also state it to have ‘been observed
feeding on carrion’(p. 285), both foraging traits supportive of its
capacity to benefit from the over-abundant rabbits and their
carcasses.
What was the motivation for importing mongoose
into Australia?
Our study has revealed three reasons for mongoose being brought
into Australia. The earliest imports were for entertainment,
vermin control, or as household companion animals, and these
usually comprised one or two animals, occasionally up to five
animals (Appendix 2). The major motivation, however, was
to help contain the plague of rabbits that in the early 1880s
crossed from northern Victoria into western New South Wales
(Appendix 1). This pressing problem demanded the import of
large numbers of mongoose (consignments of 6, 10, 12, 28, 39,
~40, ~25 pairs, upwards of 50, 52, nearly 100, 100, >100, 240, and
~700 animals: Appendix 1).
Notwithstanding earlier suggestions in 1877–78 (77/1, 78/1,
78/2 in Appendix 1), the impetus for bringing in mongoose was
clearly the paper of Espeut (1882), preceded by his 1881 letter to
The Argus (81/1 in Appendix 1), which publicised its role in
controlling the rat pest in sugarcane plantations in Jamaica (83/1;
83/11 in Appendix 1; see Fig. 2for the 1883–84 (n= 52) peak in
accounts). Until then, the introduced predator of choice for rabbit
control in Australia was the ferret (Mustela putorius). The ferret’s
value in England for hunting rabbits and ridding houses of rats
was well known in Australia (The Port Phillip Herald, 7.ix.1847:
[4], 21.xii.1848: [4]). Ferrets were used for rat control in
Melbourne from the 1850s (The Argus, 11.iv.1857: 8), and were
recorded being used at or near Geelong, Victoria, to hunt rabbits
from 1865 (The Argus, 5.x.1865: 5, 5.ii.1867: 5, 6.viii.1867: 5, 3.
vi.1869: 5). Later accounts attest to their use in New South Wales
and Western Australia (‘nearly every steamer ... brings dogs,
ferrets and mongoose’: 83/13 in Appendix 1: cited by Rolls
(1969)), to address the European rabbit plague (The Maitland
Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser, 8.v.1883: 4;
The Western Mail, 15.vi.1907: 6). Their importation in 1885 to
control rabbits, and failure to establish permanent populations
(Murchison 1887), is discussed by Long (2003; citing others).
A subsidiary reason for the importation of mongoose into
Australia was that by 1883 numerous methods to control rabbits
had been found wanting. These included netting of farm
boundaries, laying of poisoned baits, trapping for meat and fur,
poisoning of water, fumigating of burrows, ferreting, and
encouraging feral cats (Rolls 1969; Coman 1999). None of these
had eliminated rabbits over large areas. The mongoose had not yet
been tried in Victoria, and so its release in New South Wales had a
rational basis.
Why didn’t the mongoose establish in Australia?
In examining the ‘determinants of establishment success for
introduced exotic mammals’Bomford et al.(2009) found that
‘the number of release events and the climate-match score had
the strongest influence on establishment outcomes’, supported
by ‘larger overseas geographic ranges’. Although Herpestes was
omitted by Bomford et al.(2009) in their published study,
a preliminary analysis had been undertaken and M. Bomford
(pers. comm. 2009) states:
‘The world range sizes for both species [H. edwardsii and
H. javanicus] are smaller than the mean (24.6) for the 17
other failed species introduced to Australia. The Climate7
values for both species are higher than the mean (18.2) for
the 17 other failed species introduced to Australia but lower
than the mean (51.1) for the 24 successfully introduced
species. Therefore inclusion of these two species would not
have changed the conclusions drawn in our paper regarding
the role of these two parameters.’
Using the assumption that H. edwardsii was the principal
mongoose species repeatedly introduced, in the reported large
numbers, to combat the European rabbit plague, it was assessed
under the primary determinants of establishment success
established by Bomford et al.(2009). A climate-match analysis
using CLIMATCH (Bureau of Rural Sciences 2009) found
H. edwardsii to have had a poor climate match at the locations
where it is reported to have been released (Fig. 1). In 1883 this was
anticipated for areas along the Murray River (83/2 in Appendix 1),
contrary, and in response, to Espeut’s advocacy for mongoose to
control rabbits.
The extinction of H. edwardsii in Italy after a period of
~30 years was attributed to ‘a combination of deleterious factors
including low genetic diversity, restricted ranges and non-
adaptation to western Palaearctic winter conditions’(Gaubert and
Zenatello 2009: 262). Such extinctions were reviewed by
Simberloff and Gibbons (2004). However, we found no evidence
for mongoose being considered to have established in Australia.
The numbers we report to have been introduced to Australia
would argue against lack of genetic diversity being a reason for
their seemingly rapid decline. However, to improve our
understanding of the Australian mongoose story, we would
recommend an examination of museum specimens as per Veron
et al.(2007) and Gaubert and Zenatello (2009). Unfortunately,
‘the lack of comparative data on the biology of [H. edwardsii]’
(Gaubert and Zenatello 2009: 267) precludes a more discerning
examination of whether perhaps the diurnal and largely solitary
nature of H. edwardsii, coupled with its poor habitat (Herpestes
are ‘principally occupants of forest habitats’: Gilchrist et al.
2009: 270) and climate match, exacerbated its poor survival.
A somewhat comparable, but nocturnal, native species, Dasyurus
geoffroii, did inhabit the regions where the mongoose were
released.
Nor could propagule size have been limiting, with eight
accounts stating that 100 or more animals, well in excess of the
nine H. auropunctatus that founded the Jamaica population,
were released. Similarly, both H. edwardsii and H. auropunctatus
are polyoestrous, with ~4–9 young produced per year, a trait
supportive of a successful introduced species, seen in the
numerous successful introductions of H. auropunctatus.
Contemporary opinion instead blamed the failure of the
mongoose to persist on rabbiters trapping them purposefully in
order to protect their livelihood, or inadvertently (Table 1,
Failed introductions of mongoose to Australia Australian Journal of Zoology 209
detailed in Appendix 1). Though no direct evidence of this
destruction was located, additional evidence of the malicious and
accidental destruction of enemies of rabbits by rabbiters is
available (The Sydney Morning Herald, 17.viii.1885: 7, 20.
iii.1897: 10; Crommelin 1886: 16, 36, 40; Royal Commission
1890: 9, 60, 61, 63, 89, 94, 102, 109; Abbott 1913; 13). As an
example of the numbers of rabbiters during the 1880s that could
have impacted locally on released mongoose, Murray Downs
station, located in the area of the main western New South Wales
mongoose releases, had 14 men destroying rabbits (The Riverine
Grazier, 1.xii.1883: 3), with ‘no less than 400 rabbiters employed
on the stations’‘within a radius of 30 miles’of Euston (The Argus,
8.xi.1884: 4). In the entire State of New South Wales, 1000 men
were employed in rabbit destruction at 25 shillings per week (The
Argus, 21.ii.1884: 4). As to the value of the rabbits to rabbiters,
The Sydney Morning Herald (27.ii.1890: 4) described the rabbits
as having ‘allowed men who had never previously owned more
than a yearly or a [sheep] shearing cheque to lord it in country
hotels with orders worth hundreds of pounds, to invest in dogcarts
[horse-drawn buggies] of eccentric colour but expensive make
...’. In the Euston area this income is reported to have been ‘over
£5 per week ...[with] a bonus of 3d. per scalp and 25s. per week’
(The Argus, 8.xi.1884: 4; excluding scalp bonuses, 5 pounds and
25 shillings per week AU$780 per week @ 2008 –www.rba.
gov.au/calculator/calc.go, calculated from 1901 from when data
are available). This substantial financial incentive would support
their reported destruction of the mongoose threat to their lucrative
‘profession’. Additional information about the large amounts of
money paid to rabbiters is provided by Keith (1892: 16, 20).
Contemporary precautionary thinking –why
was it ignored?
Several records were found of concern expressed about the risk
that the release of a new predator species might have on poultry
(Table 1, detailed in Appendix 1; records 59/6, 63/3, 84/6, 92/2,
16/2 in Appendix 2) and lambs (Table 1, detailed in Appendix 1).
Sometimes reservations were generalised (Table 1, detailed in
Appendix 1; 93/1 and 00/1 in Appendix 2).
However, the balance of opinion was that the high likelihood
of mongoose exterminating rabbits overrode considerations
about economic impact, reflected in their legislated protection
(records 83/10, 92/1, 02/1, 06/1 in Appendix 1). We found only
the reply by the Agricultural Editor, W. C. Grasby (07/1 in
Appendix 1) expressing contemporary concern about impacts on
native fauna. Conversely, the mongoose was seen as a solution
by ‘gradually thinning them [the smaller marsupials] off’(78/1 in
Appendix 1) or would kill rabbits as well as ‘useless’native
animals (83/3 in Appendix 1).
What would have happened to Australia’s biodiversity
if mongoose had established?
Informed speculation about which indigenous species in
Australia would be vulnerable to predation by mongoose is
possible because of observation of impacts in parts of the world
where mongoose did establish successfully.
Mongoose cleared a ship of rats ‘in a few weeks’(Espeut 1882:
713) and ship captains kept a mongoose on board to kill any rats
(Rolls 1969: 113). Rats in Jamaica were successfully controlled
within two years of the release of mongoose in 1872 (Espeut
1882). By the late 1870s, snakes, lizards, toads, larval beetles,
caterpillars, quail, and other ground-nesting birds had all declined
(Espeut 1882). By 1884 opinion was that many members of the
Jamaican fauna ‘are likely to become extinct at no distant date’
(Anonymous 1884: 345). Subsequently, the mongoose was
blamed for the decline of turkey buzzards and petrels on Jamaica
(Anonymous 1891). Other indirect effects included an increase in
ticks by 1892 (Gifford 1892; Cockerell 1901). By 1896 all game-
and ground-nesting birds had declined to extreme rarity, though
several reptile species were recovering (Hill 1897). Similar
impacts were similarly reported for the Hawaiian, West Indies and
Caribbean islands (Long 2003) and continue to be a major issue
(Hays and Conant 2007). Mongoose were introduced to Fiji to
control rats in the 1880s; they became ‘very prolific’,‘a worse pest
than the rats’, and made it ‘almost impossible to keep poultry’
(The Argus, 25.ix.1890: 5), and reportedly caused the
disappearance of wild ducks (The Argus, 22.vi.1934: 5).
A recent study of the impact of mongoose in Japan (Watari
et al.2008) found that mammal, bird, reptile and amphibian
species with bodyweight >10 g declined markedly in the presence
of mongoose. Species <10 g in bodyweight (insects) increased,
possibly through alleviation of predation pressure from larger
species. These changes took place within 24 years of the
introduction of mongoose in 1979.
In conclusion, if mongoose had established an exotic
population in Australia, it is likely that they would have greatly
exacerbated extinctions and declines of many native rodent,
marsupial, reptile, frog, and ground-nesting birds, above that
caused by the introduced fox (Vulpes vulpes) and cat (Felis catus).
However, the extent of these declines may have been mitigated to
some extent by the presence of the larger predators, including the
dingo (Canis lupus dingo) and wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila
audax), which may have suppressed mongoose populations.
Acknowledgements
We thank: Staff at the State Library of South Australia, particularly Joyce
Garlick, for procuring requested mongoose accounts; David Stemmer, South
Australian Museum, and Sandy Ingleby, Australian Museum, for providing
details of mongoose specimens held in their care; Mary Bomford for reviewing
our CLIMATCH analysis and commenting on the manuscript; and Win
Kirkpatrick and Marion Massam, Western Australian Department of
Agriculture and Food, for running a comparative CLIMATCH analysis –
obtaining results similar to those presented in this paper.
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Failed introductions of mongoose to Australia Australian Journal of Zoology 211
Appendix 1. Early records of mongoose and other herpestids in Australia related to their release into the wild as a biological control agent for agricultural pests
In quotations, spelling and capitalisation are exactly as in the original. Abbreviations: NSW, New South Wales; Qld, Queensland; SA, South Australia; Vic., Victoria; WA, Western Australia
Record No. Year Locality Account Reference
76/1 1876 Anlaby Station, SA Several ferrets (meerkats, the herpestid Suricata suricatta) from Cape Colony (South Africa) being
imported to clear the land of rabbits.
The Argus 7.xi.1876: 6
77/1 1877 ‘Ever since it was first reported that mongooses had been introduced into Southland [New Zealand], for
the purpose of keeping down the rabbits ... He says;- ‘From my personal knowledge of the Bengal
mongoose I believe it might be introduced in Australia and New Zealand with the greatestadvantage. It
is an animal of a very hardy nature, quite able to take care of itself, fierce, and very courageous, killing
rats, both the common and the bandicoot, although the latter is much larger in size. It is very restless,
roving about over a considerable space. It would cause great destruction among rabbits, I am quite sure,
particularly in destroying the young ones in their burrows. I further believe it would be very unlikelyto
multiply in such numbers as to become a nuisance ...With regard to their introduction, there would be
no difficulty in the matter; 50 pairs might be purchased here [Bengal, India] at about two rupees a pair,
placed in separate cages, for they fight and destroy each other if they are together in numbers. ...Mr.
Ramey, a well known naturalist, also, after describing the habits of the Bengal mongoose (Harpestis
Malacceusis Fleurier) writes: ‘On the whole, I think ... the trial of introducing the mongoose in
Australia, with the view of destroying the rabbits there,might be made with great advantage, for, even if
the mongooses afterwards proved equally destructive to poultry and game, they (the mongooses) might
be shot, as they are by no means prolific like rabbits. I would recommend that at first a pair or two pairs of
mongooses be let loose on a single farm, and the effect they produce carefully watched before
despatching a large number of them to Australia.’
The Mercury 5.vii.1877: 3
78/1 1878 ‘Having witnessed the activity, courage, and strength of the common mongoose of India in its furious
attack upon and quick destruction of rabbits, the largest rats, and animals of any such description, in
addition to its hostility to the cobra, as well as its fearlessness of any animal of the size of a cat, when in
any degree provoked, I venture to suggest that a trial should be made of its demeanour in the presence of
the smaller marsupials which, I am told, infest some of the Queensland grazingdistricts to so marvellous
an extent. I believe the mongoose is to be easily had in any numbers from India. If the trial promised to
introduce an enemy which possessed the needful antipathy to the lesser invading species even, it might
become an invaluable auxiliary to the Queensland squatter in gradually thinning them off. It may be
worth trying, and the expense but small, I should think, ascompared with sums I have heard are sunk in
the fruitless efforts made hitherto with that view. Such a remedy, if the mongoose proved to effect one,
would introduce no further enemy to grass or stock, excepting that of the poultry-yard.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
10.v.1878: 6
78/2 1878 SA ‘Alluding to the rabbit nuisance, a writer in a South Australian journal recommends the acclimatisation of
the mongoose. He says ‘Put one or two of them in a field among the rabbits, and I will answer it will be
clear in a week.’’
The Mercury 13.ix.1878: 1s
81/1 1881 Letter from W.B. Espeut FLS, Jamaica, to the editor of The Argus:‘I am certain that the introduction of the
Indian mongoos will rid Australia of rabbits, and perhaps kangaroos and dingos, by the destruction of
the young animals ... They will prey on rabbits greedily, and once in their clutches no rabbit can
escape’.
The Argus 5.x.1881: 10
83/1 1883 ‘Mr. W. Bancroft Espent [Espeut] read a paper on the history of the acclimatisation and utilisation of the
mongoose in Jamaica at a recent meeting of the Zoological Society of London, and threw out [i.e.
offered; he was a strong advocate] the suggestion that a trial of its services in Australia as a destroyer of
the rabbit might be found to be advantageous.’
The Mercury 5.ii.1883: 2. The
Maitland Mercury & Hunter
River General Advertiser
8.ii.1883: 3
212 Australian Journal of Zoology D. Peacock and I. Abbott
83/2 1883 ‘the influx of rabbits on the runs near Howlong and properties lower down the river is alarmingly on the
increase. Owners are naturally beginning to cry out, and there is little doubt, as a national loss appears to
be pending, that Government should begin to take steps in thematter ...A paragraph has been going the
rounds lately about the efficacy of the introduction of mongooses in Jamaica, which island they
completely cleared of rabbits, but we are afraid the mongoose would not find a very congenial habitat on
the banks of the Murray. What this animal wants is a very warm, humid climate, and in any case they are
not a very fecund species and would not increase and multiply sufficiently to cope with the myriads of
rabbits which now threaten to infest the district.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
7.ii.1883: 9–10
83/3 1883 ‘A suggestion has been lately made in your columns that the Indian mongoosewould prove a valuable ally
in the efforts being made to cope with this growing pest –the rabbit invasion. From a long experience of
the habits of the mongoose, I feel sure that its introduction would be attended with at least immediate
good results ...He pursues rats and mice to the death with virulent and triumphal animosity, and he
would, I believe, make short work with not only rabbits but small wallaby, paddymelons, snakes, and
other useless ‘janwars’in this country. I have known a couple of mongoose destroy over 40 crocodile
eggs in a single night. They often kill a dozen rats right off, and with rabbits –such is their weasel or
ferret nature –I fancy they would slay right on till glutted with slaughter, when they would rest and
commence again. They are easily domesticated, and if introduced into the rabbit-infested districts,
where there are few poultry, they could not fail, I think, to give a good account of themselves.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
10.ii.1883: 8
83/4 1883 ‘Australians will be glad to learn that much sympathy is felt for them in this country [?Britain] under their
‘rabbit infliction’, and that scientists and naturalists are discussing warmly the probable advantages and
disadvantages of introducing the mongoose to keep down the plague.’This article discusses its
usefulness in destroying ‘reptiles and vermin of all sorts’, its readiness to become a pet, and its value in
nearly exterminating a plague of rats in Jamaica.
The Herald [Melbourne]
21.ii.1883: [2]
83/5 1883 NSW ‘If the rabbits were a pest to graziers and others, the mongoose would be a still greater pest to the whole
community ...The mongoose was a bloodthirsty animal which would destroy not only rabbits but also
fowls, and almost any small animals. Some who knew a great deal about the mongoose went so far as to
say that it would attack children.’The Minister confirmed that the Government intended to introduce
mongoose, sourced from Ceylon. Other comments: ‘mongooses were not very desirable animals to
introduce here’[on account of their fondness for poultry and their eggs]; ‘I hope that nothing of the sort
[importing mongoose] will be done’;‘we shall have another species of destructive vermin which may
have to be extirpated’
New South Wales
Parliamentary Debates
7.iii.1883: 819, 821, 822;
15.iii.1883: 987, 991
83/6 1883 Recounts the ferocity a mongoose from India killed rats on a steamer ship and concludes ‘if the Australians
intend to let the Indian beasts go loose in their country in scores of couples, as is said, there is a sad future
before the Australians, I fancy’.
The Brisbane Courier
8.iii.1883: 3
83/7 1883 NSW Third reading of the Rabbit Nuisance Bill: ‘Mr. McLAUGHLIN ...As to the importation of mongooses,
they would prove a greater pest than the rabbits. They were bloodthirsty animals if they were to believe
what was said of them by those who ought to know best. It was said that they would destroy children.
They destroyed fowls and other valuable birds and animals. The rabbit was only a nuisance to the
selectors and squatters, and he thought rabbits should be permitted to be kept in well secured cages ...
Mr. FREMLIN remarked that in England the stoat did the work which the mongoose performed in
India. It would by blood-sucking destroy rabbit after rabbit, while the animals which in the colonies
killed the rabbit did so by devouring it. The mongoose was an inoffensive animal which was played with
The Sydney Morning Herald
by children. He thought to introduce it into the colony was one of the wisest things they could do. If they
had not extreme legislation on this question they would have extreme desolation to meet. He would
recommend not only the mongoose to be introduced, but the polecat, the stoat, and the weasel
(Laughter) ...MrGOULD ...Some reference had been made to the mongoose, and he noticed in one of
the papers the other day an extract from an English paper which stated that this was a most bloodthirsty
animal, which did not confine itself to killing rabbits, and he hoped the Government would be careful in
introducing this animal. Sir HENRY PARKES said that he did not think the mongoose would attack
8.iii.1883: 5
(continued next page )
Failed introductions of mongoose to Australia Australian Journal of Zoology 213
Appendix 1. (continued )
Record No. Year Locality Account Reference
rabbits, for it was a singularly gentle and inoffensive creature, only remarkable for its instinct for
attacking and killing poisonous reptiles. We had in the colony a much fiercer animal in the native cat,
which unfortunately did not exist in numbers in the districts infested by the rabbits. As far as the
mongoose was concerned, they would not be more formidable to the rabbits than so many wax dolls.’
83/8 1883 NSW ‘respecting the habits of the ...[mongoose], which, Mr. Abbott proposes to import for the destruction of
rabbits’, observations are recounted of a demonstration 10 years ago, by Mr. Gerard Krefft of two caged
mongoose killing, in two minutes, a defanged black snake. ‘My own opinion is that the mongoose will
not eat snakes or kill them if it can get better food, and that it will prefer chickens and eggs to rabbits if it
gets the choice. It would appear as if many people thought that the mongoose would catch rabbits and
suck their blood ... The experience of the Botany man who fed the mongseee [mongoose] did not
favour this view. Personally I think wild ferrets about as useful as mongooses.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
12.iii.1883: 3
83/9 1883 NSW With regard to the ‘Rabbit Bill in the Legislative Assembly’it is suggested that mongoose ‘though it will
kill a snake, and may kill a rat, yet is too large to penetrate into holes and small burrows’and instead
lauds the ‘the stoats and weasels of Great Britain’as the solution to the country’s rabbit problem. It is
stated they ‘can easily be bought in England by a notice in Leadenhall Market at ~2s. 6d. each’,
The Sydney Morning Herald
14.iv.1883: 13
83/10 1883 NSW Under section 31 of the Rabbit Nuisance Act 1883, a proclamation is published declaring six species
[‘iguana, the native cat, the tiger cat, ferrets, the mongoose, stoats’] to be enemies of the rabbit, and the
following districts [‘Albury, The Hume, The Murrumbidgee, The Murray, Balranald, Bourke,
Wentworth’] in which these animals must not be killed or captured without special permit. The
domestic cat was added subsequently.
New South Wales Government
Gazette Supplement
1.v.1883: 2415; 31.
vii.1883: 4130. The Sydney
Morning Herald 2.v.1883: 5
83/11 1883 Mr Espent [Espeut], who introduced 9 mongoose to Jamaica in 1872, has offered to send some to Australia
and New Zealand. Comment: ‘the introduction of a new species into a district should not be done
rashly.’Noted that mongoose eat chicken eggs.
The Australasian 16.vi.1883:
760
83/12 1883 Torrumbarry Station, Vic. ‘According to the Riverine Herald, the mongoose is about to have a trial of his powers in rabbit
extermination. Mr. Chrystal, of Torrumbarry Station, is the introducer of these little Indian animals. By
the Pride of the Murray, s.s [paddle steamer; Echuca Victoria; still operating], which sailed a few days
since, he forwarded a consignment of mongooses for the purpose of using them on his runs.’(See 87/1,
87/2)
The Maitland Mercury &
Hunter River General
Advertiser 12.vii.1883: 5.
The Australasian
7.vii.1883: 24. The Adelaide
Observer 14.vii.1883: 10
83/13 1883 Euston, NSW ‘nearly every steamer from Echuca (Victoria) brings dogs, ferrets, and mongoose, if not for this particular
rabbit district, at all events for the surrounding ones.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
17.viii.1883: 5. The
Riverine Grazier
22.viii.1883: 2 (cited by
Rolls 1969)
83/14 1883 To NSW from India ‘A letter has been received by the Colonial Secretary from the Director of the Zoological Gardens,
Calcutta, stating that 100 Mongoose have been collected for New South Wales, and will in due course
be shipped to Sydney.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
25.viii.1883: 9. The
Maitland Mercury & Hunter
River General Advertiser
28.viii.1883: 6
83/15 1883 Melbourne, Vic. A shipment of mongoose landed from the Rosetta, ‘to be employed in the destruction of rabbits’.The Argus 3.ix.1883: 6
83/16 1883 Colac, Vic. Some mongoose have been imported from Colombo for rabbit extermination by one or two landowners of
large estates in the Western district. They were kept in confinement at Colac ‘for a time’before being
released.
The Argus 11.x.1883: 9. The
Maitland Mercury & Hunter
River General Advertiser
13.x.1883: 2s. The
Wilcannia Times 19.x.1883:
2
214 Australian Journal of Zoology D. Peacock and I. Abbott
83/17 1883 Mulurulu, NSW ‘Mr. Brook, of Tapio Station, Euston ...had ordered 200 native cats, 60 mongoose [to control rabbits] ...’
‘report from Mr. H. P. Richardson, Rabbit Inspector ...These mongooses were let go on the north-east
portion of Kilfera C [Mulurulu station], on the 11th August ...My opinion is they will be a success ...’
The Sydney Morning Herald
26.x.1883: 8. The Riverine
Grazier 31.x.1883: 2 (cited
by Rolls 1969)
83/18 1883 Riverina, NSW ‘Mr. ABBOTT stated that 22 mongoose were about to be sent to Mr. McKenzie to put on an islandwith a
view to the eradication of rabbits. Mr. Crozier said he had sent to Calcutta for 100 mongoose, to be
employed in the destruction of rabbits. Mr. ABBOTT said he had given instructions for Mr. Crystal to
be allowed to try the experiment of using mongoose on an island for a period of six months, and similar
permission would be granted to any other owners who might apply. He would see that the inspector did
not interfere in those cases.’[see 83/19, 23]
The Sydney Morning Herald
21.xi.1883: 7
83/19 1883 Riverina, NSW ‘Operations for the destruction of rabbits in Riverina continue to be carried on with great vigour, and the
staff of inspectors are working very energetically for the extinction of the pest. The Government have
lent several mongoose to the Riverina run-holders, to try their effects on the rabbits on a piece of land
badly infested, which is nearly surrounded with water [‘at the junction of the Murray and
Murrumbidgee Rivers; see 83/23].’
The Sydney Morning Herald
23.xi.1883: 7. The Brisbane
Courier 23.xi.1883: 5; also
The Argus 23.xi.1883: 8
83/20 1883 NSW Letter advocating the introduction of large numbers of the natural enemies of the rabbit, including
mongoose. The mongoose has already been imported by David Chrystal and ‘is doing good work’.
They kill for the sake of killing. A point is made about adverse consequences of other rabbit control
methods: trapping and fumigating also kill the mongoose.
The Australasian 24.xi.1883:
666
83/21 1883 NSW The steam ship Newcomen, from Calcutta, India ‘has on board 40 mongoose, which are to be employed in
extirpating rabbits in the southern and western districts of the colony’. Number of mongoose is also
stated to have been 39 and 42.
The Sydney Morning Herald
30.xi.1883: 7; 1.xii.1883:
13. The Brisbane Courier
1.xii.1883: 5. The Argus
1.xii.1883: 10
83/22 1883 Riverina, NSW Government has lent several mongoose to run holders, as an experiment in rabbit control. The Australasian 1.xii.1883:
694
83/23 1883 NSW, including Riverina ‘Forty-two mongooses have arrived in Sydney and will be lent out to those who require them. Several are
to be placed on the island at the junction of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers to test their
exterminating powers.’[see 83/18, 19]
The Riverine Grazier
1.xii.1883: 3 (cited by Rolls
1969)
83/24 1883 Mulurula [Mulurulu] station,
NSW
‘Information has been received by the Minister for Mines that the mongoose [plural] recently sent into the
rabbit districts are doing good work ... Mr. David Chrystal, of Mulurula ... says –‘Concerning the
mongoose, they are doing wonderful work, and my only trouble is that I have no more of them.’He
thinks that, to ensure the complete success of the experiment, the mongoose should be let loose in parts
of the country exempt from the provisions of the rabbit regulations relating to fumigation and rabbiters.
He expresses this opinion, because the rabbiter can easily trap the mongoose, and will do so.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
17.xii.1883: 7. The Argus
17.xii.1883: 8. The Mercury
18.xii.1883: 3
83/25 1883 NSW In follow up to The Sydney Morning Herald 17.12.1883: 7. ‘Cats and iguanas [goannas] are not exactly the
equivalent of the mongoose or we should not require to be importing ...both also fall naturally into the
common-place trap set for the rabbits, and there in little doubt that the mongoose would follow. This
correspondent [David Chrystal] is not exactly clear in his indictment against the trappers. Is it of malice
or carelessness? a sort of instinct to protect a lucrative employment, or a careless method which makes
fish of everything entering a net?’
The Sydney Morning Herald
18.xii.1883: 7
83/26 1883 NSW ‘The following is a copy of the report of the Chief Inspector of Stock to the Minister for Mines ...The 40
mongoose which have recently arrived from India are to be placed on an island in the Lower Murray, on
Mr. Crozier’s run.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
19.xii.1883: 5
84/1 1884 Curdie River, near Cobden,
Vic.
A mongoose captured in a rabbit trap. The Argus 15.i.1884: 6
84/2 1884 Mulurulu station, NSW ‘Mr. David Chrystal, of Torrumbarry, Echuca, has written to the Minister for Mines, stating that he
received 52 mongoose by the last P. and O. Co.’s steamer, and that he has forwarded them to Mulurulu
station, in the Darling district.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
29.i.1884: 7. The Argus
29.i.1884: 5
(continued next page )
Failed introductions of mongoose to Australia Australian Journal of Zoology 215
Appendix 1. (continued )
Record No. Year Locality Account Reference
84/3 1884 Melbourne, Vic. The Rosetta shipped at Colombo ~340 mongoose, consigned to Gibbs, Bright and Co., Melbourne. More
than 100 had died on the voyage between Colombo and Albany, Western Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald 1.
ii.1884: 8. The Argus 1.
ii.1884: 6
84/4 1884 Vic. Debate about the likelihood of the mongoose becoming as great a pest in Victoria as the rabbit. However,
its predation of chickens and eggs should be offset by the numbers of snakes destroyed.
The Argus 1.ii.1884: 10
84/5 1884 Riverina district, NSW ‘For the past six months the mail steamers have been bringing out from Ceylon large consignments of
mongooses, which have been turned loose in the rabbit-infested plains of the [NSW/Vic] border
country. Up to the present it is believed that the animals have done good service in destroying the pest;
but sufficient time has not yet elapsed to produce any very decisive results. [Whenthe 240 shipped by
the Rosetta arrive] at their destination the total number imported will have been between 700and 800. In
addition to their liking for rabbits, mongooses have a decided partiality for snakes, and this will
probably be of great service also in the districts where they are being acclimatised.’
The Argus 2.ii.1884: 9. The
Mercury 6.ii.1884: 2
84/6 1884 ?Vic. Government is exercising caution about proposals to bring mongoose (and weasels, stoats, polecats) to
prey on rabbits in infested districts. Concern that these predators may change their diet once set free, just
as the rabbit has changed its habits (climbing trees and swimming creeks), and become a pest. Concern
also expressed about likely mongoose predation on poultry and possible attacks on lambs and children.
The Argus 5.ii.1884: 5
84/7 1884 Sydney, NSW ‘Newcomen (s.), from Calcutta: ... 3 cages mongoose (12)’.The Sydney Morning Herald
27.iii.1884: 6
84/8 1884 ‘There has been some talk of ferrets, and of an Indian equivalent, called a mongoose. Both aredestructive
enough; destroying every creature they see, and then only sucking their blood. But the rabbit has ...
much greater fecundity than any member of the weasel family.’
The Times 3.iv.1884: 9
(editorial)
84/9 1884 Morgan SA, in transit to
Murray River property
‘A consignment of nearly 100 of these little animals has arrived at Morgan in transit from India for removal
to a sheep station on the River Murray, in charge of a native of Calcutta. From observation and
information as to their nature and habits afforded by their keeper I should judge them well adapted for
their mission of destruction among the rabbits, the present scourge of squatters. This is not the first, but
largest, importation I have seen up to the present time.’
The Register [Adelaide] 2.
v.1884: 7. The Argus
2.v.1884: 5. The Mercury
5.v.1884: 3
84/10 1884 Vic. ‘The ship Martin Scott, which arrived yesterday morning from Calcutta. Mr. J. C. Kiernander, director of
the Horticultural and Agricultural Society’s Gardens, Calcutta, was also a passenger. He brings some
mongoose with him to be utilised for rabbit destruction.’Ten young males were brought.
The Sydney Morning Herald
16.v.1884: 8. The Brisbane
Courier 17.v.1884: 6. The
Argus 16.v.1884: 5
84/11 1884 Letter to the editor by J. C. Kiernander, Melbourne, about the success of mongoose in Calcutta clearing
the Agricultural and Horticultural Society’s gardens of rabbits, squirrels, rats andsnakes. This species is
domesticated in Bengal. It is unlikely to attack lambs and children. ‘In the north-west provinces of India,
which in the winter months are almost quite as cold as Victoria, the mongoose is very rare, and I
therefore opine that the animal is not likely to propagate in sufficient numbers ever to be a nuisance in
this colony.’
The Argus 27.v.1884: 7
84/12 1884 None stated ‘[A] squatter living in the neighbourhood had lately imported upwards of 50 mongeese from India,for the
purpose of destroying rabbits on his station.’
The Argus 30.v.1884: 7
84/13 1884 Letter from a former resident of Calcutta about the mongoose. It would not attack children or lambs (in
relation to its value as a rabbit destroyer).
The Australasian 31.v.1884:
684
84/14 1884 Letter: The mongoose is a poultry destroyer (a squatter has imported 50 from India). Comment: ‘the
introduction of any foreign vermin into Australia is a thing that requires extreme caution’.
The Australasian 7.vi.1884:
732–733
84/15 1884 Report of high demand for mongoose by visitors to Colombo [?for rabbit control]. Writer doubts that a
mongoose could kill a red-bellied black snake in Victoria as easily as it does the cobra in Ceylon.
The Argus 17.vii.1886: 4
84/16 1884 Melbourne, Vic. Letter to the editor counselling caution before introducing the mongoose for rabbit control. The Argus 16.viii.1884: 5
216 Australian Journal of Zoology D. Peacock and I. Abbott
84/17 1884 Vic. The Legislative Assembly was informed that the mongoose was being imported ‘in considerable
numbers’; concern that this species may prove much worse than the rabbit. Should its importation be
prohibited? Several months previously Mr Service requested approval to import the mongoose. At
present the Government is powerless to prevent the importation of animals. The Acclimatisation
Society of Victoria is not involved in the importation of the mongoose. Divergence of opinion among
parliamentarians: some consider it likely to be a great pest; others that the climate is too cold for it and it
‘consequently became paralysed, and would not live here’. One MLA [Member of the Legislative
Assembly] had visited India and ascertained that the mongoose is very destructive: ‘The vessel by
which he returned from India brought ~700 mongoose, and consignments were arriving almost
every week from Ceylon.’
Victoria Parliamentary
Debates 11.ix.1884, vol. 46:
1384, 1386
84/18 1884 Vic. The Premier said that mongoose ‘can be of no service in destroying rabbits’; Government to consider a bill
prohibiting the importation of noxious animals.
The Australasian 20.ix.1884:
537
84/19 1884 Sydney, NSW ‘THE MONGOOSE. –Persons wanting MONGOOSE from Ceylon, for destroying rabbits, should apply
to the undersigned, whose agent is shortly to sail. MUNRO and WITTS, Seven Hills.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
20.ix.1884: 16
84/20 ?1880s ?NSW ‘Recently he [Anon.] heard that many years ago the mongoose was tried in one Australian State, and
proved so effective that several rabbit-trappers, fearing the loss of a profitable job, destroyed it.’
The Argus 30.x.1932: 5
84/21 1884 ‘Dogs, ferrets, or stoats, mongooses, andc., may destroy a number [of rabbits], or drive them away to other
places; but they simply help to spread the evil instead of eradicating the pest, and, in all probability, may
prove as great a nuisance as the rabbits themselves.’
The Sydney Morning Herald 5.
xi.1884: 10
84/22 1884 Paringa, SA 60 mongoose (at total cost of £45) deployed in the control of rabbits. South Australia Parliamentary
Debates 6.xi.1884: col.
1616
84/23 1884 Vic. Conflicting accounts of the value of the mongoose, weasel and polecat as a method of rabbit control. These
species would eat poultry; in any case, rabbits will always outlive predators.
The Australasian 27.xii.1884:
1211
84/24 1884 North Queensland, Qld (?
Johnstone River district)
‘In 1884 the mongoose [‘probably Herpestes edwardsi or H. smithi’*] was introduced from Ceylon into
North Queensland to cope with a plague of rats which threatened ruin to the sugercane planters. For
some inexplicable reason the creatures did not thrive; numbers were turned adrift in the canefields, but
with the exception of one, which had evidently been a pet, and which, in consequence, soon established
itself as a member of the nearest household, the whole lot mysteriously disappeared.’
Anon. (1946);* Hinton and
Dunn (1967)
84/25 1880s ‘near the Murray River’and ‘in
New South Wales’
pp. 93–96: Regarding ‘the common mongoose of India (Herpestes mungo or H. griseus)[H. edwardsii:
Wilson and Reeder 2005]. Early in the [eighteen] eighties several experiments were made in Australia,
which resulted in failure. More than a hundred individuals were liberated near the Murray River, and
others in New South Wales’.
Palmer (1898: 96)
84/26 ?1884 Melbourne, Vic. In ‘the ’80s Mr. Chrystal imported several specimens of the mongoose from India in the hope of clearing
out the rabbits on the property [at Torrumbarry, Victoria]. There was some difficulty about landing
these animals, but a permit was obtained, and they were brought up from the ...steamer in their cages
and put into Grice’s Bond for the night to be forwarded to Echuca by rail next day. Whether it was that
the store cats interfered or that the imported animals wanted fight was not ascertained, and the morning
showed a battle-field of dead and maimed cats, and those which did not suffer were too scared to be of
service again.’
The Argus 8.i.1938: 6
85/1 1885 Vic. Letter critical of ‘speculative theorists’who advocate ‘ridiculous notions’, including ‘importing stoats,
weasels, polecats, mongooses and foxes’[for rabbit control].
The Australasian 13.vi.1885:
1117
85/2 1885 Australia ‘The mongoose, however, is not required here. Our native and domestic cats are, if fully utilised, and not
handed over to the tender mercies of trappers, quite able to stop the rabbits spreading.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
25.vii.1885: 8
85/3 1885 SA ‘The burning question of the day for South Australia, not to mention the neighbouring colonies, is how to
get rid of the rabbit pest. Some are for encouraging the smaller beast of prey, which kill for killing’s sake
such as the mongoose, the stoat, the ferret, and the weasel.’
The West Australian 5.ix.1885:
5
85/4 1885 Sydney, NSW ‘Rats are very numerous in the building, for part of the Post Office is built upon the Old Tank Stream,
which is one of the main sewers of the city; but mongooses, ferrets and cats have been employed to kill
them.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
11.ix.1885: 7
(continued next page )
Failed introductions of mongoose to Australia Australian Journal of Zoology 217
Appendix 1. (continued )
Record No. Year Locality Account Reference
85/5 1885 Wentworth, NSW ‘[S]ome mongoose liberated by squatters in the neighbourhood of Wentworth were invading the poultry
yards of Wentworth township and becoming a great plague.’
South Australia Parliamentary
Debates 15.ix.1885: col.
822
85/6 1885 NSW ‘The conference of delegates from the Sheep Boards, to consider the rabbit question ...Mr. HEBDEM
moved ...It had been suggested as advisable that the mongoose should be introduced, but this would be
an expensive matter, and hardly worth while considering when we had so many natural enemies in our
midst ...the resolution [to introduce native predators such as the ‘native cat’], amended as proposed,
was put to the meeting and carried unanimously.’
The Sydney Morning Herald 3.
x.1885: 10
85/7 1885 Staughton Vale and Steiglitz,
Vic.
‘The Minister for Lands has been furnished by an officer of the department with a report relative to the
effectiveness of cats and mongooses in destroying rabbits. An inspection was made of Mr. Armytage’s
property, Woolananata [near Lara], upon which cats and mongooses have been introduced, but with no
satisfactory results. The mongooses have either been caught by the trappers or have strayed long
distances away, some to Staughton Vale and others to the neighbourhood of Steiglitz ...The general
opinion prevails that neither cats nor mongooses will kill more rabbits than they can eat.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
10.xii.1885: 10
85/8 1885 SA ‘I note that the Hon. R. D. Ross said we should exercise great caution in introducing animals to destroy
rabbits, and instanced the mongoose in Jamaica as having had an unfortunate result. On the contrary, it
tends to show that however troublesome the mongoose might afterwards become he would in the first
place destroy the rabbits; and the rabbit question has become such a terrible danger that one cannot
believe any possible increase of the mongoose would compare with it for a moment. If the mongoose
will really wipe out the rabbit, for Heaven’s sake let us have him, and after he has done his work his own
turn will come if he proves a nuisance. He will at worst be a fleabite in comparison.’
The Register [Adelaide]
16.xii.1885: 6
86/1 1883–85 South-west NSW ‘Mongoose have been tried, but they have not given satisfaction. One gentleman turned a lot out on an
island, among some Rabbits, but they did not exterminate or keep them down. When not on an island,
the Mongoose is very liable to wander. They have been found, shortly after they were turned out 20 and
even 50 miles away, showing that they do not camp or feed quietly. Fencing wouldnot keep them within
bounds, as they can climb up anything, so that taking them all together, they are not a success.’
Crommelin 1886: 33
87/1 1887 Western NSW ‘Mr. David Chrystal, who is interested in large squattages in the Balranald and Wilcanniadistricts of New
South Wales ...In addition, he imported over 700 mongoose, costing over £700 ...’(See 83/6, 87/3).
The Brisbane Courier
8.vii.1887: 5
87/2 1887 Editorial: ‘even the mongoose, which came from India with an encouragingly murderous reputation, was
an utter failure’[in exterminating rabbits].
The Argus 6.xii.1887: 7
87/3 1887 Western NSW ‘For instance, when he (Mr. Abbott) was in power, one of the pastoral tenants (Mr. Chrystal), of Murulua
resolved to try as an experiment the introduction of the mongoose, for the destruction of rabbits. The
rabbit inspector was continually finding fault with that gentleman because the work of destruction was
not going on, but he (Mr. Abbott) gave instructions that Mr. Chrystal should get a fair chanceof proving
his experiment. However, he left office, and another Pharaoh arose who know not Joseph. (Laughter.)
The trappers were put on the run by the orders of the rabbit officers, and they regarded the mongoose and
the iguana as their enemies. The cats too were the enemy of the trappers, who were paid according to the
number of scalps they produced, and who desired not to see the rabbits destroyed by an agency other
than their own.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
13.xii.1887: 4
87/4 1887 Western NSW ‘It was true that Mr. Chrystal had imported the mongoose at a cost of over £1000. The inspectors soon
afterwards complained that the usual form of rabbit destruction was abandoned on his run. He (Mr.
[J. P.] Abbott [M. P.]) gave instructions that he was to be allowed to give the mongoose a fair trial. But
...the enemies of the mongoose-the rabbiters became the masters of the situation. Of course as soon as
the trappers got to work the mongoose was found in the traps as well as the rabbit ...The natural enemy
of the rabbit was the natural enemy of the rabbiter as well.’(See 83/6, 87/1).
The Riverine Grazier
16.xii.1887: 2 (cited by
Rolls 1969)
218 Australian Journal of Zoology D. Peacock and I. Abbott
88/1 ?1888 Teryawynia [‘Terawynne’],
Darling River, NSW
28 mongoose let loose, but killed by rabbit trappers. The Australasian 3.iii.1888:
467
88/2 ?1888 Mulurulu station, ~100 miles
north of Balranald, NSW
500 mongoose from India released. They rapidly disappeared once the Government put in trappers. The Australasian 3.iii.1888:
467
89/1 ?1880s Riverina district, NSW ‘Of the rabbit’s natural enemies, the only wild animal that has done any good in Australia as a rabbit-
destroyer is the mongoose. Mr. Wynne made an experiment with them on his station in the Riverina, and
the result was highly satisfactory. For some reason, never clearly explained, the Government of
[New South Wales]...caused the animals to be destroyed, at the same time compensating Mr. Wynne
for his loss.’[Mr. Wynne owned Teryawynia (see record 88/1), however this wouldn’t be considered to
be in the Riverina.]
The Australasian 26.x.1889:
850
91/1 1891 Sydney, NSW ‘FOR SALE, Rabbit Exterminators, 6 imported tame Indian Mongooses. Steward, s.s. [steamship]
Culgoa, Central Wharf.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
16.i.1891: 2
92/1 1892 Western NSW ‘The natural enemies to the rabbits are the iguana [goanna], the native cat, the tiger cat, the ferret, the
mongoose, the carpet snake, and the stoat. They have nearly all had a hand in killing the rabbits in the
West, and it is, I think, a fineable offence to kill any of these creatures.’
The Brisbane Courier
8.x.1892: 6
94/1 1894 Vic. Letter sent to the Premier from England proposing the introduction and release of one sex only of the
mongoose.
The Argus 17.iii.1894: 9. The
Australasian 24.iii.1894:
493
00/1 1900 Australia ‘The introduction of the mongoose into Australia to keep down the rabbit plague was an unhappy
experience, the farmer’s fowls, turkeys and even lambs disappearing like magic down the voracious
maw of the mongoose ...If introduced into Australia, in numbers, to kill rats, the mongoose would
develop into the greatest possible curse.’
The Mercury 4.iii.1900: 5
01/1 1901 Sydney, NSW ‘MONGOOSE, better than ferrets for killing rabbits. ‘The Young Zoo’. 208 George-St. North.’The Sydney Morning Herald
9.i.1901: 11
02/1 1902 NSW ‘A proclamation has been issued by his Excellency the Governor declaringthe iguana, native cat, tiger cat,
ferret, mongoose, and stoat to be natural enemies of the rabbit, and prohibiting the wilful wounding,
killing, or capturing, soiling, or disposing of any such animals within the State.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
2.xii.1902: 4
03/1 1903 Yudnapinna, SA ‘In addition Mr. W. T. Mortlock is having sent to South Australia –several mongooses[from Ceylon*], in
the hope that they will prove of service by killing rabbits on his station [Yudnapinna*].’** ‘He [Hon.
A. Catt] asked Mr. Butler [Commissioner of Crown Lands] to enquire into the advisability of permitting
that to be done. The question had some years ago been discussed, and it was proved that the introduction
of the mongooses would result in greater annoyance than the rabbits at present caused.’
*The Advertiser 28.ix.1903: 6.
The Advertiser 27.x.1903: 7.
** The Advertiser
30.x.1903: 4.
04/1 1904 Qld ‘If we remember rightly, it was at one time proposed to introduce the snake-killing mongoose into
Queensland for the purpose of destroying rats in the canefields. The proposal, fortunately, came to
nothing.’
(Anonymous 1904)
06/1 1906 NSW ‘A letter was read from the Chief Inspector of Stock declaring that native and tiger cats, mongooses, and
ferrets were the natural enemies of the rabbit and that anyone killing the same was liable to prosecution.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
13.i.1906: 7
07/1 1907 ?Murchison region, WA ‘The Mongoose and Rabbits. ‘Murchison’writes: Can any of your readers inform me if Indian mongoose
are suitable for working the rabbit burrows, if so, the best means of obtaining three pairs or less, also
particulars of their habits. I hear they are procurable in Colombo, Ceylon. Can anyone let me know the
best way to get into correspondence with the dealers. I find ferrets will not work well during the
summer months ... [Reply by the Agricultural Editor, W. C. Grasby] Don’t! Don’t!! Don’t!!! The
The Western Mail
Indian mongoose (Herpestes griseus)[H. edwardsii: Wilson and Reeder 2005] is suitable for
destroying rabbits, also rats, snakes, lizards, boodies, and other small animals. So far so good; but it is
also equally suitable for destroying eggs and poultry, and for becoming a general nuisance. I would not
(continued next page )
Failed introductions of mongoose to Australia Australian Journal of Zoology 219
Appendix 1. (continued )
Record No. Year Locality Account Reference
like to say that it would not tackle new-born lambs. The mongoose was introduced into Jamaica to
destroy the rats in the sugarcane fields, and for a time the island rang with the praises of the sugar
planters’saviour. In a few years, however, the mongoose was an even more serious problem than the
rats, and I believe it is a problem today, although I have not read any accounts of it recently. I amunder
the impression that it was introduced into New Zealand to kill rabbits, and that the people there do not
speak in terms of praise of those who introduced it. The rabbit is a fearful pest, and nature’s natural
enemy method is good; but we in Australia should have learned by this time that introducing animals
from elsewhere is apt to be as dangerous as setting fire to a house to drive out an intruding dog.’
15.vi.1907: 6
24/1 ‘On the important subject of the control of rabbits Mr. Le Soeuf [‘Curator of the Zoological Gardens’] said
that the introduction of weasels, mongoose, and stoats was continually advocated. There were very few
places in Australia where stoats or weasels could exist, and the mongoose did not kill rabbits.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
22.iv.1924: 7
34/1 Undated Qld ‘I am not suggesting that Lord Huntingfield had anything to do with the experiment but the animals appear
to have been sent from India about the time the present Governor of Victoria [Huntingfield] sent out a
batch of Indian doves. The idea was that they would combat a plague of rats on the canefields. Only a
small number of the mongoose ... were let loose.’
The Argus 15.vi.1934: 5
35/1 1935 ‘Among the many animals which, it has been suggested, it might be advantageous to bring in [for rabbit
control] have been Mongooses, Pole Cats, Skunks, Minks, Sables, Civet Cats, Lynxes, Jackals,
Coyotes, Meer Cats, etc. The Mongoose has so frequently been proposed that I feel that the Australian
public should be specially warned against its recurrence.’
Stead (1935)
220 Australian Journal of Zoology D. Peacock and I. Abbott
Appendix 2. Early records of mongoose in Australia related to imports for exhibition (in menageries, zoos, snake fights), their use as pets, and for the control of snakes and domestic pests
In quotations, spelling and capitalisation are exactly as in the original. Abbreviations: NSW, New South Wales; Qld, Queensland; SA, South Australia; Vic., Victoria; WA, Western Australia; Tas., Tasmania
Record No. Year Locality Account Reference
53/1 1853 Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: one mongoose sought from ship captains and others. The Argus 15.iv.1853: 1
55/1 1855 Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: one mongoose for sale. The Argus 23.i.1855: 8
59/1 1859 Melbourne, Vic. Letter to the editor advocating the value of ‘mongose’in ‘ridding the country’of snakes (particularly
numerous this year in Victoria), based on the writer’s experience in India: ‘we should endeavour by
every means in our power to introduce them.’
The Argus 18.10.1859: 6
59/2 1859 Melbourne, Vic. ‘On Thursday, the 1st of December, at 8 o’clock p.m., it is proposed that the ichneumon should be
exhibited at the Mechanics Institute, under the patronage of members of the Philosophical Institute of
Victoria, with a view of displaying its feats, agility, and courage in attacking and despatching venomous
reptiles, with the express object of ascertaining and testing the desirability of introducing these animals
into this country. The ichneumon, commonly and better, however, known as the mongose, was
imported into this colony by Captain Layard (with several other useful animals), who has constantly
forced upon the public, through the medium of the Press, the great advantage that would accrue to this
country by their introduction as ‘snake-killers’; but up to this moment no one appears to have been
awakened to the revelations that were constantly being made on the subject, and now, as it where,
suddenly they become alive to a sense of their carelessness, and call for a display, in order that active
steps should be taken, provided they meet with the requirements of the country, with a view to their
immediate introduction.’The advertisement for this event was first published onp. 8 of this issue of The
Argus. Both ‘mangostes’subsequently killed the 2 snakes presented at the experiment.
The Argus 30.xi.1859: 5; 2.
xii.1859: 4; 5.xii.1859: 4
59/3 1859 Melbourne, Vic. Captain Layard exhibited 2 specimens of the mongoose to members of the Philosophical Institute before
the contest with snakes in the evening. Both animals are stated to be similar in appearance to the pair
recently to be seen in the Botanic Gardens. A later article mentions only one present in a cage in these
Gardens.
The Argus 1.xii.1859: 4;
17.xii.1859: 5
59/4 1859 Melbourne, Vic. Letter to the editor endorsing the value of tame ‘mongose’in India in keeping down the abundance of
snakes around houses, but questioning the utility of wild mongoose in controlling the numbers of
snakes in the Indian countryside.
The Argus 2.xii.1859: 7
59/5 1858 Melbourne, Vic. ‘It is generally admitted that they [a pair of ‘ichneumons’] will not brood in captivity, the pair in the
possession of Captain Layard have been together for more than a year [actually 9 months], and have not
produced offspring.’
The Argus 5.xii.1859: 4;
8.xii.1859: 3
59/6 1859 Melbourne, Vic. Letter to the editor from J. A. Layard, who has lived for nearly 25 years in Ceylon ‘and the Eastern world’,
and has closely observed the habits of ‘mongose’. He considers that snakes, rats and mice are preferred
to poultry. Subsequent letters debated the likely impact on poultry of introducing mongoose to Victoria.
The Argus 8.xii.1859: 3;
12.xii.1859: 1; 23.xii.1859:
6
59/7 1859 Melbourne, Vic. A second experiment took place on 3 December, resulting in 3 snakes being killed. The male mongoose
was evidently bitten and became unable to stand, but appears not to have died. ‘[I]t is by no means
proved that they would be a valuable addition to our zoology.’
The Argus 17.xii.1859: 2S
59/8 1859 Watson’s Bay, Sydney, NSW Advertisement: Mongoose at ‘Watson’s Bay Zoological Gardens’.The Sydney Morning Herald
30.xii.1859: 1
(continued next page )
Failed introductions of mongoose to Australia Australian Journal of Zoology 221
Appendix 2. (continued )
Record No. Year Locality Account Reference
59/9 ~1859 Vic. ‘Some twenty years ago there was great talk in Melbourne about introducing the Indian mongoose –an
animal about the size of an opossum, and not unlike it in appearance, and domesticating it about our
houses, it being well known as a great snake-killer. I was present at a scientific experimental exhibition
of two that were specially imported. One mongoose was turned out first, and then a large black snake let
out to him. In a second the little animal had pinned the snake by the middle, and although the snake
twisted around him and apparently bit him all over, yet it did him no harm, and in a couple of minutes
time he bolted with the snake in his mouth under the platform where he could eat it at leisure. As no
coaxing could again induce him to come out, the second mongoose was brought. He was treated
The Brisbane Courier
differently. The objection made to their introduction was that they were so fond of poultry, and
particularly eggs, that they would be a greater nuisance than the snakes themselves. So another black
snake and some eggs were put on the floor, and then the animal was turned out. He did not hesitate long,
but at once tackled the eggs, and bolted with one in his mouth. It was decided by our Southern savans
[sic] that it was not desirable to introduce this Indian animal.’
5.iii.1879: 5
60/1 1860 Melbourne, Vic. One ‘ichneumon’kept in the menagerie at the Botanic Gardens. The Times 30.v.1860: 12
60/2 1860 Adelaide, SA ‘Mr. Hampton Gleeson has lately brought from India one female and three male specimens of the Indian
ichneumon, commonly called the mangouste, or snake-killer. The pair has been presented to the
Botanic Gardens, and the two remaining males to Mr. Elliott, of the Globe Inn, Rundle-street ...It is
intended to give these little creatures an early opportunity of showing their skill upon some of the snakes
of Australia; and if they can succeed in killing them, it may be very desirable to introduce the breed into
the colony ...and they are such graceful creatures, that we fancy the ladies would see at least as much in
them as they can find in cats to rear and fondle as parlour favourites.’
The Adelaide Observer
21.vii.1860: 3b. The South
Australian Advertiser
18.vii.1860: 2
61/1 1861 Adelaide, SA ‘On Saturday evening last, Joseph Shires, the snake hunter, exhibited his snakes at the Blenheim Hotel. He
has just returned from Wellington, whence he procured 17 snakes, all of which he exhibited. The
‘Mongouse’was in attendance, but thinking ‘discretion the better part of valor’, he retired from the
‘combat’midst the groans and hisses of those assembled.’
The South Australian
Advertiser 13.v.1861: 3
62/1 1862 Melbourne, Vic. Three mongoose listed as present in the zoo at Royal Park. The Argus 27.ii.1862: 5
62/2 1862 NSW Former resident of India suggests importation of snake-killing mongoose. States ‘the mongoose is easily
domesticated, and evidences strong attachment for its master. It is very courageous. It must be
mentioned, however that our little serpent-killer is very destructive to poultry, especially in its (the
mongoose) wild state ...There appear to be twokinds of the mongoose-the large and small, very similar
in all other respects; the large kind seem the hardier.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
5.ix.1862: 8
62/3 1862 Melbourne, Vic. One mongoose brought on the brig Carl, the last port of call being Batavia [Jakarta, Indonesia]. The Argus 3.xi.1862: 4. The
Herald [Melbourne]
3.xi.1862: [2] and 4. The
Mercury 6.xi.1862: 4
63/1 1863 Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: Exhibition of newly arrived exotic animals, including two mongoose [?all species],
having been imported from India and purchased ‘at considerable cost from G. Landells, Esq., to whom
the colony is indebted for the introduction of a variety of curious and useful animals’.
The Argus 12.i.1863: 8;
15.i.1863: 4
63/2 1863 To Qld from Melbourne, Vic. ‘It was eventually resolved- ‘That the Secretary be requested to write to the Secretary of the
Acclimatisation Society in Melbourne ...and, on the motion of Mr. Rawnsley, another £5 was ordered
to be expended in procuring, through Mr. Landells, a few couples of the mongoose (or snake
destroyer).’
The Courier [Brisbane]
4.ii.1863: 2
222 Australian Journal of Zoology D. Peacock and I. Abbott
63/3 1863 Vic. ‘The Secretary announced that the Victorian Society had offered to forward two male specimens of the
mongoose to the Queensland Society. Some of the members doubted the utility of importing two males;
and others asserted that the mongoose was anything but a desirable acquisition-in fact, that it might be
classed under the head of “noxious animals;”though it certainly destroyed snakes, it was still more
destructive to poultry.’
The Courier [Brisbane]
9.iv.1863: 2
63/4 1863 Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: one pair of mongoose for sale at an auction. The Argus 22.viii.1863: 2
63/5 1863 Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: one pair of ‘Egyptian mongoose’for sale. The Argus 24.viii.1863: 8
65/1 1865 Sri Lanka to Qld “Colombo, 17th. January, 1865.’Dear Sir,-I have received your letter of the 18th November, and shall, in
compliance with your instructions, take an early opportunity to procure for your Acclimatisation
Society. ‘We have several varieties of mongoose, all of them valuable as serpent killers. They are very
hardy, and could be readily acclimatised with you. I have not known them to breed in confinement, but
they would soon spread in their natural state wherever they were released in sufficient numbers.-Dear
Sir, I am, very truly yours,’Charles Layard.’
The Brisbane Courier
21.ii.1865: 3
67/1 1867 Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: circus visit, with reference to the mongoose or ‘Indian Snake-killer’.The Argus 21.vi.1867: 8
68/1 1868 Sydney, NSW For His Royal Highness, Duke of Edinburgh: At the Museum ‘Mr. Krefft then produced a case containing
some live snakes, and one of these was taken, out and placed on the floor; at the same time a mongoose
(ignuman), the property of Mr. Parkes, was liberated ... Another mongoose, a very tame one from
Timor, was set at liberty, and he amused himself by catching and killing several small frogs which Mr.
Krefft liberated.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
15.ii.1868: 7
68/2 1868 Mervale, Five Dock, NSW ‘I wish we could encouragethe breeding of the mongoose, and let them wild in the bush that abounds with
snakes. Mr. Parkes’s experiments, as reported in the Herald the other day, put to the proof the deadly
enmity between them [mongoose and snakes].
The Sydney Morning Herald
26.ii.1868: 3
68/3 1868 Sydney, NSW ‘His Royal Highness [Duke of Edinburgh] also received from Mr. Parkes the mongouste which killed the
snakes at the Museum on the occasion of the Royal visit to that establishment. The little animal was as
docile and playful as a kitten.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
22.vi.1868: 7
69/1 1869 Sydney, NSW A ‘mongoos’(owned by H. Parkes) killed a snake put into its cage. The Argus 6.ii.1869: 1
69/2 1869 Qld ‘As the mongoose at the Park is useless alone, I would recommend that it be exchanged for something
more suitable for the wants of the society. I believe the mongoose is highly thought of in Victoria by
some few Indian gentlemen for its rat and snake-killing proclivities, but as it is also fond of poultry,
andc., care would have to be exercised in setting it free. Keeping it in a cage, however, does not improve
its habits.’
The Brisbane Courier
18.ii.1869: 2
69/3 1869 Melbourne, Vic. Two mongoose shown during a lecture on snake bite; these ‘on Thursday night will have a fight with a
snake.’
The Herald 13.iv.1869: [2]
69/4 1869 Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: a fight between mongoose and live snakes in a plate glass pit, for a Shire’s benefit. The Argus 10.v.1869: 8
69/5 1869 Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: an exhibition including the ‘mongoose.’The Argus 5.vi.1869: 8
69/6 1869 East Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: reward offered to the finder of a lost mongoose. The Argus 18.vi.1869: 1
69/7 1869 Ultimo, Sydney, NSW ‘FOUND, a MONGOOSE. Apply 82, Victoria-street, Ultimo.’The Sydney Morning Herald
28.viii.1869: 8
70/1 1870 Rose Bay, Sydney, NSW ‘FOR SALE, a tame MONGOOSE, will kill rats and snakes. 310, Palmer-st., off South Head Road.’The Sydney Morning Herald
27.vi.1870: 8
71/1 1871 Sydney, NSW ‘FOR SALE, a MONGOOSE. Apply 382, Kent-Street, between Market and Druitt streets.’The Sydney Morning Herald
1.iii.1871: 8
71/2 1871 Letter to editor from Calcutta, praising the ability of mongoose kept in houses in killing snakes: ‘I would
suggest that the Government of Victoria should import as many of these animals as they could obtain,
and distribute them throughout the colony.’
The Australasian 17.vi.1871:
744
72/1 1872 Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: visit by circus, including ‘the mongoose that killed the great cobra di capella’.The Argus 27.i.1872: 8
72/2 1872 Melbourne, Vic. One mongoose donated by Captain Anderson to the zoo. The Argus 15.iv.1872: 5
(continued next page )
Failed introductions of mongoose to Australia Australian Journal of Zoology 223
Appendix 2. (continued )
Record No. Year Locality Account Reference
73/1 1873 Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: seeking 50 snakes and a man to manage them for a ‘great Monghoore snake-fight’;
‘Monghoores, wonderful snake-fighters...on view’, Bourke Street.
The Argus 10.iv.1873: 1; 16.
iv.1873: 8
74/1 1874 Melbourne, Vic. Several specimens of mongoose landed on the ship Wimmera, arriving from Calcutta. The Argus 6.iii.1874: 5
75/1 1875 Sydney, NSW ‘The sale of Manders’s Royal Menagerie ... mongoose, £1 2s.’The Sydney Morning Herald
21.ix.1875: 6
76/1 1876 Melbourne, Vic. A very large specimen of the mongoose landed from RMSS China, arriving via Suez. The Argus 18.ix.1876: 5
78/1 1878 Dunolly, Vic. ‘A creature of a curious nature...entered a room in Ray’s Hotel, about nine o’clock on Sunday night, and
in an endeavour to make an exit, considerably damaged the ornaments of the apartment, and somewhat
frightened the inmates of the hotel. The intruder is not unlike an opossum,but the head is much smaller,
and the nose sharp and pointed. The tail is about eighteen inches long, the latter half being white, and
ends in a very small point. From whence it came, and to whom it belongs, is a mystery, and various
conjectures have been raised in respect thereof, the most feasible being that it is a mongoose, and
escaped from Cooper and Bailey’s circus when here.’
The Herald 29.viii.1878: [2]
81/1 1881 Brisbane, Qld ‘Among the ‘shows’which have been doing a good business in Brisbane lately, is the menagerie, whose
headquarters have been at the corner of Queen and Edward streets. The ‘show’also comprises five
Indian mongoose or snake-killers.’
The Brisbane Courier
31.v.1881: 3
81/2 1881 Newtown, Sydney, NSW ‘Mr. Halley Henderson, of Newtown, has (reports the Evening News) just returned from Melbourne,
bringing with him a pair of very rareand very valuable little animals-mongooses, or ‘mongeese,’...Mr.
Henderson was fortunate in getting the animals from a ship recently arrived from India, and he is
understood to have paid a high price for them. He was for a long time endeavouring to obtain a pair of
these animals.’
The Maitland Mercury &
Hunter River General
Advertiser 6.viii.1881: 5s
81/3 1881 Hobart, Tas. ‘In addition to those beasts which we have mentioned in a previous paragraph, there is a cage [in the
menagerie] of four mongoose, the great enemy of the snake.’
The Mercury 29.x.1881: 2
82/1 1882 Sydney, NSW ‘THE MONGOOSE AND THE COBRA DE CAPELLO ...to be seen in the WINDOW of the ROYAL
FURNISHING ARCADE, together with an Account of the REMARKABLE FIGHT.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
11.iv.1882: 11
82/2 1882 Sydney, NSW ‘The following donations were presented to the Australian Museum during last month [May] ...
ichneumen or mongoose, Herpestes griseus, Mr. Asher.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
6.vi.1882: 3
82/3 1882 Sydney, NSW ‘The following donations were received [by the Australian Museum] during the month of September:-
Mammals: A mongoose, presented by Messrs. Bradley, Newton, and Lamb.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
14.x.1882: 8
83/1 1883 Sydney, NSW ‘WANTED to Purchase, a MONGOOSE. T. W. Crawley, 15, Hunter-street.’The Sydney Morning Herald
12.ii.1883: 2
83/2 1883 Vic. ‘Pet mongooses have often been imported into Victoria, but no attempt to acclimatise the breed has so far
come under our notice.’Noted that single specimens sometimes are on sale in the Eastern Market,
Melbourne.
The Australasian 17.ii.1883:
216–217
83/3 1883 NSW H. Parkes had kept 12 in confinement, some for several years, and ‘found the mongoose a singularly
gentle, inoffensive creature; he had allowed it to run about his house, where it played with children, and
even with cats, in very inoffensive and harmless manner’. He thought that it would be ineffectual for the
destruction of rabbits.
New South Wales
Parliamentary Debates
7.iii.1883: 821 (partly cited
by Rolls 1969)
83/4 1883 Vic. ‘By the arrival of the Cassiope from Calcutta, the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria has received ...
from the Calcutta society ...nine specimens of the mongoose family. There were sixteen of these latter
shipped. The animals are all apparently in good order and condition.’
The Brisbane Courier
14.iii.1883: 5
84/1 1884 Sydney, NSW ‘LOST, a MONGOOSE, from 18 and 20, Loftus-street. Any person giving information, or returning the
same to the above address, will be rewarded.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
16.i.1884: 16
84/2 1884 Qld ‘Captain Burkitt has also on board [the Dacca] a mongoose, the snake-killer of India, an animal that has
become immensely popular in the adjoining colony, in consequence of its inherent and rooted antipathy
to rabbits.’
The Brisbane Courier
17.iii.1884: 4
224 Australian Journal of Zoology D. Peacock and I. Abbott
84/3 1884 Sydney, NSW ‘FOR SALE, A Pair of MONGOOSE. Apply Mr. Hannington, 73 and 75 York-street.’The Sydney Morning Herald
23.v.1884: 9
84/4 1884 Melbourne, Vic. Several mongoose landed for the zoo from the Noddleburn, arriving from Calcutta. ‘Some 25 pairs of the
Indian mongoose were shipped on board...but several them died during the passage.’
The Argus 28.iv.1884: 4, 5
84/5 1884 Sydney, NSW ‘FOR SALE, 5 MONGOOSE. Apply G. Hannington, 73 and 75 York-street.’The Sydney Morning Herald
25.iv.1884: 9
84/6 1884 Melbourne, Vic. Numerous letters to the editor contesting the extent to which mongoose kill poultry. The Argus 28.v.1884: 6; 30.
v.1884: 7; 4.vi.1884: 6;
5.vi.1884: 3; 6.vi.1884: 3; 7.
vi.1884: 14; 18.vii.1884: 10
84/7 1884 Melbourne, Vic. Letter to the editor by J. C. Kiernander: ‘The importation of the mongoose will decrease, for they –in
Bengal at least –are getting scarce, and the prohibitory freight charged on same, consequent on expense
and trouble in transport, will, I think, before long stop their importation. I have a very few, and shall be
glad to permit gentlemen to view same, between 9 and 10 a.m. daily.’
The Argus 5.vi.1884: 3
84/8 1884 NSW ‘The following donations were made [to the Australian Museum] during the month of June:- ... a
mongoose, a pig-tailed monkey, the Zoological Society.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
5.vii.1884: 9
84/9 1884 NSW ‘The following donations were made [to the Australian Museum] during the month of September:- ...
mongoose, Zoological Society.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
16.x.1884: 6
84/10 1884 Melbourne, Vic. Two cases of mongoose imported from Calcutta. The Argus 18.xii.1884: 4
86/1 1886 Adelaide, SA ‘At the last meeting of the Zoological Society it was suggested that as the Indian mongoose had the
character of being a good snakekillers [sic] so it might be as useful in killing rabbits, which, as we all
know, overrun the country districts [‘nuisance’of mongoose introduced to Jamaica highlighted]. what
has become of one [mongoose] that was in the [Zoological] Garden.’
The Register 28.viii.1886: 7
86/2 1886 Sydney, NSW ‘ADVERTISER wishes to BUY Male and Female MONGOOSE. Reply, stating price, to Rats, Herald
Office.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
2.iii.1886: 9
86/3 1886 Hillston, NSW The following is a list of donors and donations since the last monthly meeting ...an Australian eagle and a
mongoose, John Phillips, Hillston.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
4.xii.1886: 12
87/1 1887 Sydney ‘A MONGOOSE for SALE, or will exchange for Fowls, Birds, andc.; splendid ratter and a good rabbitter.
Mr. Taylor, 5, Milton-terrace, Dawes Point.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
24.ii.1887: 2
87/2 1887 Sydney ‘FOR SALE, a MONGOOSE, very tame, cheap. John, Smart’s Hotel, Pitt and Market streets.’The Sydney Morning Herald
23.iii.1887: 11
87/3 1887 Sydney, NSW ‘...Indian Mongoose, Mandarin Ducks, andc., at Quelch’s Bird Shop, corner Kent and Bathurst streets.’The Sydney Morning Herald
4.vi.1887: 21
87/4 1887 NSW ‘The following are the donations to the Australian Museum for the month of November, 1887:- ... 1
stuffed mongoose, Mrs. Miller.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
10.xii.1887: 10
88/1 1888 Melbourne, Vic. Advertisement: Shipment of foreign animals, newly arrived, offered for sale; included are mongoose. The Argus 9.ii.1888: 2
88/2 1888 Hobart, Tas. ‘In addition to cargo [loaded at Calcutta] the [steamship] Tekapo has several animals comprising
monkeys, several specimens of the genus mongoose, and an Indian sheep.’
The Mercury 28.viii.1888: 2
88/3 1888 Melbourne, Vic. 6 ‘varieties’of mongoose imported from Cape Town for the zoo. The Argus 31.viii.1888: 7
90/1 1890 Sydney, NSW ‘WANTED, two Mongoose, state price, and apply to John Barlow and Co., 756 George-street.’The Sydney Morning Herald
7.iii.1890: 12
91/1 1891 Moore Park, Sydney, NSW Advertisement: mongoose at the Zoological Gardens. The Sydney Morning Herald
24.i.1891: 2
91/2 1891 Forest Lodge, Sydney, NSW ‘FOR SALE.-A pair of pet MONGOOSE, male and female, very tame. Apply W. WIGG, 69 Mount
Vernon-street, Forest Lodge.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
24.i.1891: 2
92/1 1892 Hobart, Tas. ‘List of donations presented to the Tasmanian Museum during the months of January, February, and
March: ...1 Mongoose (Herpestes Griseus).’
The Mercury 29.iii.1892: 3
(continued next page )
Failed introductions of mongoose to Australia Australian Journal of Zoology 225
Appendix 2. (continued )
Record No. Year Locality Account Reference
92/2 ~1892 Vic? ‘H. J. L. says there have been two references in ‘Nature Notes’to the introduction of the mongoose to
destroy rabbits. In his opinion it would be a calamity. ‘About 40 years ago [~1892] my son, then a little
boy, told me there was a ‘possum chasing the young ducks. I found it was a large mongoose,which had
just killed 10 ducklings, and was after the hen which had hatched them. One of them would kill a
houseful of fowls in a night, and I was convinced that what was thought to be a fox killing fowls at
Brighton last years was an escaped mongoose.’
The Argus 21.x.1932: 5
93/1 1893 Australia ‘The animal. perhaps best known in these days by its Indian name, mongoose. Some years since
mongooses were introduced into Jamaica for the purpose of destroying rats, which infested sugar
plantations; and they have since, in company with stoats, weasils [sic], and other ‘vermin,’been turned
down in Australia and New Zealand in the hope that they would destroy the rabbits which have become
such a terrible plague; but we doubt whether, in the latter case at least, the remedy will prove worse than
the disease.’
The Brisbane Courier
20.ii.1893: 6
98/1 1898 South Perth, WA Advertisement: ‘Snake-killing Indian Mongoose’at the Zoological Gardens. The West Australian 9.xi.1898:
1
98/2 1898 Sydney, NSW via Adelaide,
SA
‘steamer Argus, which arrived the other day at Adelaide on her way to Sydney from Calcutta ...[with]
mongoose.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
29.xii.1898: 4
99/1 1899 Melbourne, Vic. Four mongoose imported for the zoo, but quarantined by the Board of Public Health because of fears of
infection with bubonic plague.
The Argus 2.i.1899: 5
99/2 1899 Fremantle, WA ‘Yesterday there arrived at Fremantle onboard the s.s. Karrakatta, from Singapore, a valuable collection of
animals obtained by Mr. Le Souef, the Director of the Zoological Gardens. Two mongoose of the snake-
killing variety are also included in the collection. They are perfectly tame and can be fondled without
harm by children.’
The West Australian
26.x.1899: 4
99/3 1899 South Perth, WA One ichneumon present in the collection of the Zoological Gardens as of 30.6.1899. Acclimatisation Committee
(1899): 6
00/1 1900 NSW? After the outcome of their introduction to Jamaica, concludes: ‘Care would therefore have to be taken in
the use of them [mongoose, to control rats], so as to prevent their spreading over the country.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
9.v.1900: 8
00/2 1900, 1900–01 South Perth, WA ‘Grey Ichneumon or Mongoose (Herpestes griseus), India’listed as present in the collection of the
Zoological Gardens.
Acclimatisation Committee
(1900: 6); Acclimatisation
Committee (1902:7)
02/1 1902–03 South Perth, WA One mongoose presented to the Zoological Gardens (from a person in Perth). Acclimatisation Committee
(1903)
05/1 1905 Melbourne or Sydney ‘The steamer Gracchus, which arrived from Calcutta this morning, has on board for the Melbourne Zoo
and for Sydney ... one mongoose.’
The Advertiser 3.iii.1905: 7
05/2 1905 Riddell’s Creek, Vic. [?near
Mt Macedon]
One mongoose caught in a rabbit trap. It had killed 2 ducks, a sitting hen, and 4 chickens. It had sucked the
blood and had not eaten any flesh.
The Argus 17.iii.1905: 7
06/1 1906 Adelaide, SA ‘The [Zoological] gardens during the year gained ... by purchases or gifts ... mongoose.’The Advertiser 27.vii.1906: 9
07/1 1907 Sydney, NSW ‘REWARD.-LOST, from Winchcombe, Carson, and Co.’s store at Bridge-street, on the 9th instant, 3
(three) INDIAN MONGOOSE. Apply above address.’
The Sydney Morning Herald
13.iii.1907: 3
07/2 1907 Adelaide, SA ‘Mongooses ...to arrive next week for J. Malone, Young Zoo, Central Market. Inspection invited.’The Advertiser 31.viii.1907: 5
08/1 1908 Adelaide, SA ‘A TRAINED Mongoose for Sale ... McMillan, Central Market.’The Advertiser 16–18.i.1908:
12, 10 and 5
08/2 1908 Adelaide, SA ‘Mongooses ...At Malone’s, Young Zoo, Central Market; trial solicited.’The Advertiser 4.vii.1908: 5
09/1 1909 Adelaide, SA A mongoose on show at 102 Hindley Street. The Advertiser 5.iv.1909: 10
09/2 1909 Melbourne, Vic. A boxer arrived by train from Adelaide for a match in Melbourne ‘carrying a mongoose under one arm.’The Argus 10.xi.1909: 10
09/3 1909 Adelaide, SA ‘Just arrived ... Indian Mongooses ... At Malone’s, Young Zoo, Central Market.’The Advertiser 11.ix.1909: 8
226 Australian Journal of Zoology D. Peacock and I. Abbott
10/1 1910 Adelaide, SA ‘The Zoological Gardens has within the last few days added to its already large collection the following
animals and birds ... one pair of mongoose.’
The Advertiser 14.iii.1910: 6;
30.viii.1910: 5
10/2 1910 Sydney, NSW Mongoose advertised for sale by ‘W. Puxley, Q.V. [Queen Victoria] Markets.’Advertisements till
30.7.1910: 17.
The Sydney Morning Herald
4.vi.1910: 22
16/1 1916 Mosman, Sydney, NSW ‘several species of [African] mongoose’at Taronga Zoo. The Sydney Morning Herald
10.ii.1916: 10
16/2 1916 Adelaide, SA ‘As the result of poultry farmers’complaints of ravages among chickens the Agricultural Department is
being asked to proclaim the Indian mongoose under the Australian Birds’and Animals’Act. Some
mongooses introduced in the metropolitan area [to controlrats?] have been breeding prolifically.’In The
Sydney Morning Herald 10.7.1916: 5 this account is reproduced but erroneously stated as Perth, WA.
The Advertiser 8.vii.1916: 18
18/1 1918 Adelaide? ‘Several mongoose’bred at the Zoological Gardens. The Advertiser 10.ix.1918: 9
19/1 1919 Victoria? ‘Wanted, to Buy ferret or mongoose; state price. Address Ich. Neumon, Argus office.’The Argus 9.ix.1919: 7
25/1 1925 Melbourne, Vic. ‘An exceptionally fast passage from Sydney was made by the Royal Packet steamer Houtman, which
reached Melbourne yesterday from Java and Singapore. On the Houtman was a young crocodile and
two mongooses consigned to the Melbourne Zoological Gardens.’
The Argus 7.v.1925: 15
42/1 1942 Australian ports ‘A return issued by the Director-General of Health (Dr J. H. L. Cumpston) reveals that 30 dogs, 23
monkeys, three squirrels, a mongoose and a rabbit, accompanying returning Australian troops, had
been destroyed to prevent the entry of rabies into the country.’
The Canberra Times 1.v.1942:
3
Failed introductions of mongoose to Australia Australian Journal of Zoology 227
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