A serious crisis was averted thanks to Pesky Critters trappers! Over the weekend in late October 2023 a call came in that two “ferret like animals” jumped out of a cargo container that had just arrived to South Florida from the caribbean islands. Pesky Critters owner Todd Hardwick immediately had a horrific thought that these could be mongoose… Well known for their destruction throughout the Caribbean, Hawaii and the rest of the world as a horrible exotic invasive.
He immediately dispatched trapper Jeff to flood the area with traps in case his worst nightmare was true. Two mongoose were successfully captured! Mongoose are known for their aggression towards snakes, as well as their immunity to snake venom, including deadly cobras and mambas. The small Indian mongoose is a rabies reservoir in Puerto Rico and accounts for over 70% of reported animal rabies cases annually. These particular male mongoose that we captured, had come from the US Virgin Islands according to the cargo container manifest. The small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) has been listed by the IUCN (2000) as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species. Native to southern Asia, it was introduced to many islands in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean Sea late 19th and early 20th century to control introduced rats in sugar cane fields. Indian mongoose have wrecked havoc on native mammals, reptiles, birds, and more almost everywhere they have been introduced. Introduction of the mongoose has contributed to extinction of four species of Haitian island shrews, and it is believed that the mongoose has been largely responsible for the endangered status of the Cuban solenodon. It is also suspected in the likely extinction of the dwarf hutia. In other areas of the world, it has been linked to the decline in the abundance of the threatened native rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) on the Japanese island of Amami-Oshima. Both mongoose trapped were male. With over 40 years experience, we serve private, corporate and governmental entities in their wildlife removal needs! Contact us 24/7 at 305-255-7296 or 954-927-7296. Pesky Critters has highly trained trappers with live capture equipment to provide safe wildlife removals for the humans AND animals involved. South Florida Mongoose