There are many, many species of mongoose. In fact, meerkats area type of mongoose. Anyway, yes, some people in India really did have their own little Rikki Tikki Tavi (anyone remember that movie?). Some still do, just as some in Africa have pet meerkats. However they are more like the prowling outdoor cat than a pet ferret. They roam the grounds, let you pet them, but need to be "free". I have a picture of a pet mongoose lying in a hammock much like a ferret that I found on the internet. Some people try to keep mongoose and meerkat as pets. This is not good as they are not domestic. It may work for some to keep a mongoose, but in reality they are wild animals - just because something is friendly to you, does not mean it has lost the urges of nature in roaming, breeding, hunting, etc. Also my semi-friend who is involved with "urban exploration" (taking pictures of abandoned buildings) messaged me the other day when he was in Hawaii - this must have been in January. He asked me if there were ferrets in Hawaii, to which I told him they aren't wild animals, so no - and now I know what to tell him he saw. He said it "moved really weird" and he was trying to take pictures of it. Laryssa [Posted in FML 6256]