View source for Mongoose

[[File:Mongoose.jpg|right|thumb|400px|A taxidermied mongoose on display at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum]]
*''Japanese'': マングース ''(manguusu)''

Mongooses are an invasive species prevalent on [[Okinawa Island]] and [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]].

Indian mongooses were intentionally introduced into [[Okinawa prefecture]] in [[1910]], with the intention of combating the problems of vermin such as rats and ''[[habu]]'' (Ryukyuan pit viper). However, the mongooses proliferated without making a significant impact upon rat or snake populations - as in Hawaii and elsewhere, the key problem is that mongooses are diurnal, and sleep during the night, when they might otherwise encounter nocturnal rats or snakes. Instead, mongooses have had a severely negative impact upon populations of many native species, including ''[[Yanbaru kuina]]'' (flightless birds of northern Okinawa Island) and Amami rabbits, both of which are now endangered.

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==References==
*Gallery labels, Okinawa Prefectural Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/9511497423/sizes/l]

[[Category:Flora and Fauna]]
[[Category:Meiji Period]]
[[Category:Ryukyu]]