This is a long overdue post on the animal that dons our title banner - the Stripe-necked Mongoose. It is the largest of the Asiatic mongooses and invariably distinguishable from other species of mongoose by a black stripe starting from the back of the ear through the side of the neck up to the shoulder. It is a species confined to Southern India and Sri Lanka.
The Stripe-necked Mongoose is a forest dweller and is not as common around human habitations as other species of mongoose. Crabs and frogs being its choice prey, its rarely found far away from a water source.
Here are a series of images on this beautiful species. The camera setup is the D300, Nikon 300mm f2.8 with 2x teleconvertor.
The Stripe-necked Mongoose is a forest dweller and is not as common around human habitations as other species of mongoose. Crabs and frogs being its choice prey, its rarely found far away from a water source.
Here are a series of images on this beautiful species. The camera setup is the D300, Nikon 300mm f2.8 with 2x teleconvertor.
This is a full frame closeup image at 600mm, f/5.6, 1/125s, -0.7EV, ISO 400
This image was taken at f/5.6, 1/125s, -1.0EV, ISO 400
We got this beautiful Mongoose against the lush green forest floor on a morning safari . Image specs - 600mm, f/5.6, 1/200s, 0EV, ISO 800
This rare sighting of a Stripe-necked Mongoose with a offspring taken at 600mm, f/5.6, 1/125s, -1.0EV, ISO 800
And finally this is the closest we got to a Stripe-necked Mongoose. Taken at 600mm, f/5.6, 1/40s, -0.7EV, ISO 400
125 comments:
Absolutely gorgeous photos of an animal I didn't even know existed.
Hi Thomas.
It looks like a cute animal but also a quite aggressive one on some of your pictures. Awesome details and sharpness once again. You are really a talented photograph.
What a very interesting little animal. Your photos are fantastic. Thank you for sharing them.
I have never seen a mongoose up close before. The quality of your images is amazing. Very nice work... and very interesting. Your blog gives me good insight on animals I know little about. :)
Very good work. the last one is my favourite, with the eyes reflecting what it is viewing.
I have a soft spot for the mongoose. I spent a lot of time staying over with a school friend during my childhood and every morning early we would hear a ruckus outside and would find the big rubbish bin filled with mongooses. Much cavorting and clowning around until the neighbourhood became noisy which would send them all scurrying off into the bush. Great photos Thomas!
I think of Kipling when I hear the word mongoose. Had no idea what they really look like, but the first image is very powerful.
Crabs & frogs? That surprises me but since I don't know much about the mongoose, except that they tend to scare me, I'm not sure what I thought they'd enjoy eating. As long as it isn't me.
Intense eyes.~Mary
WOW Thomas. Great pics and info. This look very much like our Banded mongoose except for the stipes. Same coloring and habits.
Amazing! Thanks.
Lovely little mangoose, beautiful pictures as usual. Two fans !
François et Marie-Thé
Loved the first pic..
These pics are really good.. u got some really nice ones.. in the 2nd and the 3rd pic it looks agitated..
Write poetry
Great Images!
Great Shots!
I like so much the african mongooses:these ones seems a bit different.
What a cute fella!
The first photo made me go "Awww" and laugh at the same time.
Great set!
forest mongooses are notoriously hard to see as they are normally soooo shy. you have really managed to capture them in various moods and created and incredible series of images.
once again, you stun us with your posts!
Happy birding
Dale
http://alpinebirds.blogspot.com
Beautiful animal, but it looks like a ferocious beast.
Fantastic images of this critter. It looks a bit intense and fierce to me.
At first I thought this is soooo cute and then I saw the second and third picture and thought "feisty little one" :)
But the one at the end just makes me want to hug it, so cuteness wins over that mean little streak ;)
Great photos Thomas!
wow. amazing photos. that stripe really is distinctive. their noses are quite a bit of a splash of color against the rest of them. really stands out.
Beautiful creature. Something about the face is childlike...
The second and third photos are the best. It's the expressiveness, the liveliness. Something about them makes me feel like I can hear it warning me away. Very cool!
But that one with the juvenile is special in its own right: mother attentive, sniffing the air and looking about for threats, and all the while the offspring is curious about the funny upright animal with that equipment stuck to his face.
These are great shots, Thomas!
Amazing pictures as always, such details and clarity... love it.
Oh! Such an awesome looking creature - the little mouth (in the final pic at least) is so adorable! Wonderful photographs :)
Hi! I love the first photo for the cute innocent look, but then the next ones quite surprising! =) Love the shots you make here in this blog!
I once did a project on the Dwarf Mongoose, a cousin of this species. It was such an interesting animal. We had to watch it for ten hours over the course of a semester and log every action they did. We also had to write a paper about them. Just a neat little creature. These little guys that you shot are so cute! I love the one with the little one baring it's sharp little teeth.
They look like absolutely fearless little guys.
wow, wow, wow! terrific shots, Thomas.I found the second one very interesting!
Ooh, you don't mess with that momma, do you? Very fierce looking.
A beautiful, aggressive and exotic animal. but, i thought the pics were not as sharp as usual standard. light was low, i guess?
This is the first time I've seen a mongoose. What an expressive face the creature has!
Great Shots, I love the open mouth shots best. I once saw one at Muthanga in wyanad, but the fellow just wouldnt pose, managed to only catch parts of its tail!
What a lovely mongoose, especially on the first pic.
This journey (your blog !!!) in India is marvellous and unusefull. Thanks for giving us such a change of scenery...
Looks a bit ferocious for a small animal. Have heard of this animal but have never seen a photo. Thank you for these photos.
Fantastic photos! I like the lush green background.
He look beautiful and fierce at the same time! Enjoyed these photos!!
he looks a little angry. beautiful shots
Hi Thomas, I think we are privileged for viewing your wildlife photos. The mongoose appears lightly evil! I verified the exif; 600mm 1/40s WOW!
The mangoose has actually quite a cute face !! When i lived in St Lucia (West Indies), a mangoose used to live in my garden, going out of her "home" just at night. Very sweet.
Gorgeous shot! I'm curious - how far away are you to get that sort of cropping on the last shot with 600mm?
I've always been fascinated with the mongoose, especially because of the cobra-mongoose stories we heard as children. I don't know much about them otherwise, and your photos inspire me to learn more.
Hi Thomas,
I have never seen a mongoose up close before.
Amazing shots, very interesting and so beautiful.
As a child Riki tiki tavi was one of my favorite stories. Nice work.
awwww....so cute until he growls and shows his teeth. some of the photos he looks curious and deep in thought. Like "what are you taking pics of fellow?"
That is, one mean looking mongoose, but great photography.
I am totally new to this creature, Thomas, so I have really gotten my education...once again! Thank you.
Interesting creature, and I had no idea what they looked like before visiting your blog. These photos are incredible!
I had not seen that kind of animal before.
Excellent shots!
Juan Antonio
Awesome images. Thanks for bringing them to those of us not living in India.
Wonderful images of the Mongoose! Amazing clarity and composition on these! Great work!
What amazing shots! I never knew what one looked like until now. Funny...or maybe dumb... but I always thought it was a goose. LOL
Beautiful and instructive photographs of this intelligent and brave carnivore. Superb captures!
I am sure I have never seen this animal, it looks really cute ! but I don't understand why it is called Mongoose, it has really nothing in commun with a goose !
veru difficult to snap them! just a little blur but you are far
Hehe, he is not really happy to be on your photo, LOL... but he looks cute :))
Great shots! I've never seen this animal! So cute!
Wow!, very close and sharp.
Can count all those furs!.
Thomas: Wonderful photos of a special animal. I can't see a mongoose without thinking about it fighting a cobra. Your photos are outstanding as I always expect.
Great shots Thomas I agree they do look simular except this one is a lot Bigger :) I think the second shot you made him angry :) Great shots !!
Wonderful serie of a great snake killer ! Impressive !
Outstanding photography. I like the details in these animals. They are supposed to be terrific fighters too.
Thanks for the visit.
Wonderful shots. Thanks for letting me know of this (for me unknown) animal :)
Great reportage, weird beast, interesting for this reason ! Well done, really ~
Good photos of what I've heard to be a very fast creature. Love the last photo with the inquisitive expression and dirt on his nose.
dommage elle n'avait pas un serpent à se mettre sous la dent ;)
He doesn't look too happy there. Thanks for the background on the image as well. Beautiful shots.
The usual superb work from you and the 300 2.8. This is a fearsome looking creature in the shots where the mouth is wide open!
Wow they are great close-ups. Amazing how they battle Snakes :-)
Impressive images as always, great job!
Cute funny animals. I know that they are not very innocuous.
But the shots you made are again fantastic
Thank you for your passage on my blog. Your images are very beautiful also. Good evening
Very nice pics! Especially the closeups and the second where it screams! I like very much to watch foto of these animals that don't excist in my country!
wow i've never seen such a creature, amazing shots of this animal thomas!
excellent work
http://krikis.aminus3.com
Thomas your blog always fascinating me .. i see here animals i never see before in my life .. thanks therefore. And test to make a HDR form a single RAW .. it's a great expirience
you are my wildlife educator :)
Great photos. We have the mongoose here in Fiji. It is a pest and an egg thief. It arrived with the Indians when the British brought them to cut cane.
Cheers
These are all so beautiful and interesting. The last photo melts me heart...the expression in his eyes and on his face is so nice.
He is cute but I can tell he is a tough little bugger! Would not want to run into him in the woods! Nice series!
Exquisite and full expression of the picture...Well can I more say? :) Congrats!
Really interesting photos! This is very helpful in learning the different species from your country. Thank you much!
Great wildlife captures, very nice composed and executed...
You have some really fantastic wildlife images that are not just great to look at and technically excellent. I'm no wildlife photographer but I do know thats no mean feat!
I especially like the shots of the Black Kite, they are just stunning and I love the contrast of the Kite against the redness of the background.
My mum is an avid twitcher and enjoys traveling on bird watching holidays so I have forwarded your blog to her, I think she will really enjoy it.
Also thank you for your comments on my blog, they are very much appreciated :)
Absolutely fabulous shots, Thomas.
Very nicely done.
I've never seen one so up close and personal! They seem so fierce and untamed. You've captured a feeling of aggression and compact power.
In response to your comment, I took a couple of low angle snaps, but I typically showcase only one snap. I could put it up separately if you would like to have a look at the turtles at eye level.
The ears looks like they lay back but in the one with the baby, they stick out. Neat photos.
Very nice capture, i like photo natural very much
Once again the level of detail in these images is stunning. It's such a treat to see these animals up so close. Thanks!
Amazing that you got so close to mongooses, I have seen them while overseas, but always racing very fast and you can hardly see anything but a blur.
Great photos, we don't have them out here at all.
Wow! Thanks for sharing these and taking some showing them from the side. I had no idea this was their actual shape - not what I expected from my childhood memories of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi!
Hi
Thanks for the comment. Yes, Yunnan had a great light and allowed me to shoot many good pictures. By comparison, the grey Scotland was quite a disapointment about it.
Amazing snaps.
Great photos, they're quite cute!
Wonderful captures as usual Thomas. My favourite is the last one!
It´s almost there within my reach. Very good use for 600mm, it´s so close!
What a happiness to discover these mongooses in their everyday life, this report is magnificent, one thousand times thank you!
Surprenant !!!!
A wonderful series of this amazing creature. I like the farther away shots of the whole animal and the close in portraits so show the beady eyes so well. Excellent photography.
I know the Caribbean mongoose but I must admit that this one with its nice tatoo is quite unique !
what a cute and funny animal
great animal portraits again!
Lovely shots, a shy and aggressive animal in fact! Wonderful work!
Thomas, now is my turn to admit, that I have never heard or seen of this animal. It seems to be all in a fluster. Nice work!
I hadn't seen these up close either so thanks for enlightening us.
Hello Thomas,
Again, you've captured an amazing animal..one that I've only seen on tv and at a few zoos! How awesome to see one in the wild.
Your detail in these photos is wonderful...this is one creature,tho, that I would definitely photograph from a far..it doesn't look a bit friendly!!
Great post!
Great images! You captured this animal very well.
Wow!!! He does not look happy! But what great photos you got!
Great series. Love the mouth open shots. Great job as always. Blue Skies.
this beast looks cute if it doesn't show its teeth. :)
waw how close you took these ! I also took some in South Africa of a dwarfed mongoose but never that close. These here seem bigger too.
Amusing mongooses, but any not so affable. Can they very serious?
The picture are excellent clicked to scare. Great job. hands shake.
your animals pictures are extremely impressive
very interesting serie..
no conocía este animal, en la primera foto se ve tranquilo pero en las siguientes no parece muy pacífico.
excelentes capturas!
Rewelacyjne zdjęcia , jestem pod wrażeniem , będę tu często zaglądał , pozdrawiam :)
Clearly a split personallity: a cuddly fur-ball and a ferocious predator.
As always, great shots and instructive commentary.
these beautifull shots are amazing Thomas. Just great!
It is amazing on all the different kinds of wildlife you have there. This is a very interesting looking animal and great photos.
A beautiful series. I really like the upper one
Absolutely stunning shots! I liked all of them...:) You are just superb photographer Thomas! I wait to see your posts...:)
Hi Thomas!!
thank you for you constructive comment!!
I'll have it in consideration :-)
Thank you for those wonderful Mongoose Photos
What a treat to see the face close up like this!!
Loved the photos.
you are a dedicated photographer!
Thomas ouch ouch, nice photos, but I don't know about this creature, if I was one on one, I be scared, lol. Anna :)
When I first saw this curious Mongoose (and I don`t know this animals before your pictures) I must smile about his curious and cute view.
Thanks for showing, Thomas :-)
I had first heard of the mongosse in Rudyard Kipling stories, and now I have perfect photos to see what these wonderful little animals are like. Thank you, Thomas.
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