# Mongoose (*Urva javanica*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/mongoose  
Data as of: 2026-11-13

The mongoose (Urva javanica) is a species in the family Herpestidae, order Carnivora. Recorded adults weigh 750 g to 775 g and live up to 13.3 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 750 g – 775 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 13.3 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 16.6 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 49 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2.21 |
| Age at maturity | 4.01 months – 9.89 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 2 |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 20 countries, and flagged as invasive in 14 of them. Introduced: Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia & Herzegovina, British Virgin Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Japan, Mauritius, Sint Maarten, Spain, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago. Invasive: Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Japan, Mauritius, Sint Maarten, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Herpestidae
- genus: Urva
- species: *Urva javanica* (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1818)

Synonyms: *Herpestes javanicus*, *Herpestes javanicus orientalis*, *Herpestes javanicus pallipes*, *Herpestes javanicus perakensis*, *Herpestes javanicus rafflesii*, *Herpestes javanicus tjerapai*, *Herpestes nepalensis*, *Ichneumon javanicus*, *Mungos javanicus*

## Common questions

### How big is the mongoose?

An adult mongoose weighs 750 g – 775 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### How long does the mongoose live?

The mongoose has a recorded lifespan of 13.3 years.

### Is the mongoose an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the mongoose as invasive in 14 countries, including Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cuba and Dominican Republic. It lists it as introduced in 20 in all.

### How long is the mongoose pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 49 days.

### What kind of animal is the mongoose?

The mongoose (Urva javanica) belongs to the family Herpestidae in the order Carnivora.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).

Cite as: Mongoose (Urva javanica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mongoose