Spirit Guide of the day is Mongoose! Its time to clean! Clear out the unnecessary aspects of your life such as distracting problems or situations that are keeping you from your goals as well as physical clutter that may be distracting or interfering with your productivity. Pursue your goals with passion for the results you want. If you must defend yourself, do it. However, be sure to act with openness, courage, and honesty in order for a beneficial outcome. Mongoose connected with courage, impulsiveness, rebellious behavior, heroic character, intelligence, and survival instincts. It can come as a reminder to offer help to those around you who need it or to work on standing up for yourself in a risky situation. Go after your goals no matter what and use your intelligence to think up new ideas or projects. People who connect with Mongoose are agile and quick, with amazing reflexes as well as a witty and intelligent mind to balance it out. These individuals enjoy performing for others and are very clear about their intentions. These souls love to express their purpose and agility as much as possible and have a very high tolerance for those that most would find toxic or negative.

The Mongoose, Helogale Parvula, are omnivorous mammals that can live between 10-15 years in the wild. These endangered animals can run as fast as 20mph and can grow as big as 47 inches long and 8lbs in weight. There are approximately 30 different species of Mongoose and they are related to animals such as the Meerkat and the Civet. They belong to the family Feliforma, or "cat-like" predators can belong under the same superfamily as the hyena and leopard. Mongooses are not actually related to weasels, who belong to the separate family Caniforma, or "dog-like" carnivores. Differences between the two include skeletal criteria such as skull structure. The various species of Mongoose range in size and social structure. While some prefer to live alone, others will live in groups of around 6 to 40 individuals. These groups are called Packs, Gangs, or Mobs. Within these cooperative societies, each member has its own specific job to do. Some will hunt while others will stay and care for the old, injured, or the young ones. Any food is brought back to be shared among the pack. A complex social structure helps to figure out what role each individual plays and they have been recorded to even use simple tools. Some examples include routinely cracking open eggs, shelled creatures such as craps or mollusks, and nuts by dropping or throwing them on rocks. Others have been seen hunched over in order to launch objects between their legs against a large stone or tree. The young Mongooses will observe the adults and practice until they are able to do so themselves. These creatures are indigenous to areas such as Africa, Asia, and parts of Europe. They have also been introduced to areas within the Caribbean in more modern times. Mongooses will adapt to many types of habitats depending on the species. Some will live in the tops of trees while others have adapted to live partially in the water. Many species will choose to live either in burrows dug by themselves or in abandoned burrows of other small animals. The diet of a Mongoose includes a wide range such as the previously mentioned eggs, nuts, shelled creature such as crabs and mollusks, as well as insects, rats, and various forms of plant matter. Mongoose has become quite famous for its ability to fight and win against Cobras. While many Mongooses love to indulge in eating snakes, two species called the Slender Mongoose and the Grey Mongoose are the most likely to confront and eat a King Cobra. A bite from a King Cobra can kill an adult human in less than 30 minutes, but this does not deter the Mongoose. They are the only natural predator of the King Cobra other than humans. Mongooses possess Acetylcholine Receptors which do not make it fully immune to the venom of a Cobra, but give it a high tolerance against the venom. When attacked, the Mongoose will leap directly for the head of the snake, aiming to bite into its skull. While a Mongoose can win even if a Cobra begins to wrap around it, they can still lose the battle if bit more than once. On average, the Mongoose will win about 75 - 80% of these battles. They will consume the Cobra entirely, including the venom sac. However, this modified saliva is a venom and not a poison, so it must be injected into a victim to work. This means the Mongoose is not in any danger by eating the entire snake. Reproduction in Mongooses can depend on the style of living and species. Those that live in groups may only have an alpha female and male allowed to breed with the rest of the pack caring for their young, while other large colonies will have females in synchronized estrus cycles that enable them to mate with the most dominant males and give birth within hours of each other. The solitary Mongoose will mate only once a year with the male staying to help raise the litter of 2-6 pups. Sometimes the male will leave and the female will raise them alone. In the groups of Mongoose, young pups will beg all the adults in the pack for food but will eventually choose just one adult called an Escort who will provide for that particular pup until it is able to feed itself around 5 months old. The Banded Mongoose, shown in the illustration above, is a medium sized species that grows to about 5lbs. The live in big social groups with multiple dominant males. These males will scent mark not only their territory together, but also other members of their gang. Banded Mongooses have quite a few unique habits such as its interaction with others species. They have been regularly seen grooming Warthogs, known for their dangerous aggression, by climbing on their backs and removing ticks and other insects. Mongooses have also been seen to forage for food with troops of Chacma baboons, even to the point of seeing the Baboons hold and stroke the Banded Mongoose as if it were a pet. If startled or threatened, the entire Banded Mongoose pack will mass together in a tightly packed formation and charge their opponent as one. This technique, referred to as Mobbing, includes a loud cacophony of noises such as screams, churls, and hollers while the entire group rise, sink, and writhe from side to side in order to create the illusion of one single huge, convulsing animal. This is a unique trait to Banded Mongooses that helps them stand up to other animals such as Hyenas, Lions, or Leopards.