How the mongoose got to Spain

CONSERVATIONISTS OFTEN worry about the introduction of wild animals and plants to parts of the world where they did not evolve. These aliens can indeed do significant harm. But some settle down and fit comfortably into their new homes. Such is the case of the Egyptian mongoose, which is native to north Africa, but is also found in Spain and Portugal. It has, though, no pre-human fossil record in Iberia, and would be incapable of swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar. So the evidence points to it having been carried there by human agency. The question is, by whom?Like cats, mongooses were venerated in ancient Egypt for their habit of hunting troublesome rodents—with the bonus that, unlike cats, they would also take on snakes. They are frequently depicted in art as avatars of Ra, the sun god, in his battles with the serpent deity Apep. This role as pest controllers resulted in mongooses being tamed (though, again like cats, never truly domesticated) as companions in the home.