Mongoose Control

Why Mongoose Are a Conservation Issue

Video Credit: Arthur Daniel

The Small Indian Mongoose (Urva auropunctata) is not native to Grenada. It was introduced to Caribbean islands in the late 1800s to control rats in sugar estates and quickly spread beyond plantations into forests, farms, and coastal areas. What began as an agricultural experiment is now one of the most serious invasive species problems for Grenada’s wildlife, agriculture, and public health.

Mongoose are small, agile carnivores. They eat eggs, chicks, frogs, lizards, small mammals, invertebrates, and human food waste. They breed several times per year, have no natural predators here, and are comfortable living close to people. Over time, this combination has turned mongoose into a constant pressure on ground-dwelling native species and on rural livelihoods.

In Grenada, mongoose occur across much of the island, including key biodiversity areas where the Grenada Dove, sea turtles, and native frogs are already under stress from habitat loss and climate impacts. Understanding and managing this invasive predator is now a central part of conservation planning.

Impacts on Native Species and Farms

Mongoose predation affects wildlife, agriculture, and public health in different ways across Grenada. While the severity varies by species and habitat, the pattern is consistent: an invasive predator introduced more than a century ago continues to intersect with some of the island’s most vulnerable wildlife and livelihood systems.

Grenada Dove (Leptotila wellsi). For the critically endangered Grenada Dove, mongoose predation is a well-documented threat. The dove nests low, forages on the forest floor, and moves through dense understory—exactly the conditions where mongoose hunt. Eggs and nestlings are at the greatest risk, and even limited predation can have outsized consequences when the entire population numbers fewer than 200 individuals. In fragmented habitats, where suitable nesting patches are already scarce, the loss of a few nests each season can further slow population recovery.
Sea Turtles. Along sea turtle nesting beaches, mongoose impacts are more visible. Mongoose dig into nests to consume eggs and will opportunistically take hatchlings during emergence. All four species that nest in Grenada—Leatherback, Hawksbill, Green, and Loggerhead—are vulnerable. Ocean Spirits, which holds the government’s long-standing research permit, has documented seasons where a single mongoose has destroyed multiple nests on a beach. These losses undermine years of effort by community groups, SPECTO, and conservation teams to protect nesting habitat and improve hatchling success.
Native Amphibians and Reptiles. In upland forests, wetlands, and transitional habitats, mongoose add predation pressure on native amphibians and reptiles. They are known to consume frogs and lizards across the Caribbean, and Grenada’s native species fall within the typical prey size. While there is no direct evidence that mongoose predation is a primary driver of decline for the Grenada Frog (Pristimantis euphronides), it remains a plausible opportunistic threat layered on top of more significant pressures such as habitat modification, invasive vegetation, and climate-related changes in moisture and forest structure. For other small reptiles and amphibians, mongoose predation is more readily observed and contributes to reduced survival in fragmented habitats.
Agriculture and Livelihoods. Mongoose also affect farming households. They raid poultry yards, take eggs and chicks, and feed on fruit and vegetable crops. Losses are often absorbed directly by small farmers who rely on mixed crops and free-range poultry for income and food security. These impacts are persistent and can escalate quickly in areas with high mongoose density.
Public Health. Finally, mongoose in Grenada are a public health concern. They are known rabies carriers, and any bite or scratch requires immediate medical attention. This risk is one of the strongest reasons why mongoose control cannot be done informally: safe, humane control requires trained teams, strict vaccination requirements, and veterinary oversight.

How Mongoose Control Is Managed

Mongoose control in Grenada is built around two linked goals: 1) reducing pressure on priority species and nesting beaches, and 2) ensuring that any control work is carried out safely and humanely.

Because of rabies risk and the specialized nature of effective trapping systems, all mongoose control must be done by trained and vaccinated personnel. Methods used in Grenada include live trapping with humane dispatch, conservation-grade kill traps in carefully selected locations, and targeted removal in specific problem areas. Each approach is chosen based on site conditions, non-target risks, and conservation priorities.

Training is led by Dr. Kenrith Carter (Dr Carter Veterinary Services) in partnership with Gaea Conservation Network and relevant government agencies. Participants receive instruction in:

mongoose identification and behaviour,
rabies prevention and personal safety,
trap placement, checking and maintenance, and
humane dispatch and carcass handling under veterinary oversight.

All trainees must complete pre-exposure rabies vaccination and maintain current tetanus coverage. Control operations follow strict protocols to protect participants, minimize suffering, and avoid accidental harm to non-target species.

For landowners and communities dealing with serious mongoose problems—around poultry yards, in small farms, or near sensitive habitats—professional services are available. These typically include site assessment, a customized control plan, trap deployment and maintenance, humane dispatch, and follow-up monitoring to check whether further work is needed.

Community Role: Report, Do Not Handle

Community support is essential, but the role for the public is reporting, not trapping or handling. Because of rabies and other disease risks, members of the public should never attempt to catch, kill, or closely approach mongoose.

Instead, community members can help by:

reporting mongoose seen in or near Grenada Dove habitat, sea turtle nesting beaches, upland frog survey sites, and other key biodiversity areas;
noting locations where mongoose frequently appear around farms, poultry, or compost areas; and
keeping pets and children away from mongoose and discouraging attempts to chase, corner, or feed them.

Reports are shared with conservation partners and health authorities to guide where professional control will have the greatest benefit for endangered species and public safety.

For suspected rabies cases, unusual behaviour, or bites and scratches, the first call should always be to health services for emergency guidance. For property-level problems and conservation-priority sites, Dr Carter Veterinary Services and conservation partners can advise on next steps and coordinate professional control where appropriate.

Partners in Mongoose Management

Mongoose control in Grenada sits at the intersection of biodiversity conservation, public health, and rural livelihoods. It brings together:

Dr Carter Veterinary Services, providing veterinary leadership, rabies risk management, and professional control on private and conservation lands;
Gaea Conservation Network, integrating invasive predator control into broader work on Grenada Dove recovery, sea turtle nesting protection, and amphibian conservation, and supporting training and coordination;
the Forestry and National Parks Department within the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Marine Resources & Cooperatives, ensuring that mongoose control aligns with protected area management and species conservation priorities;
Vector Control within the Ministry of Health, which oversees public health aspects, rabies surveillance, and safety protocols related to wildlife vectors; and
local communities and landowners, who provide access to key sites, contribute observations about mongoose activity, and help maintain long-term stewardship of recovered habitats.

Together, these partners are working toward a future in which invasive mongoose no longer threaten Grenada’s most vulnerable species, and where farms and communities face fewer risks from both predation and disease. Systematic, professional control—supported by informed community reporting—is an essential part of that transition.