The structure of the teeth and feet reflect the diet. The small Indian mongoose has well-developed carnassial teeth used to shear flesh. Their feet have four or five digits each tipped by long, non-retractile claws adapted for digging. Small Indian mongooses are native to Southeast Asia, Cashmere to Iraq and Thailand. Introduced to the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands.
Mongooses are highly agile animals.
With their slender bodies they can run up to a wall or corner at full speed and turn without slowing down. They can stand on their hind legs, make small leaps into the air, and roll into a ball. Although they are ground dwellers, mongooses can climb about with skill on cage gratings, trellises, or trusted people. They usually move backward when climbing down. Small Indian mongooses are diurnal , active in daylight, and at night they withdraw into dens.