Drugs: Calling All Mongooses

Right now the idea is just a gleam in the eyes of U.S. officials in Sri Lanka. But if they have their way, the snake-devouring mongoose, celebrated in the 1894 Kipling classic Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, may eventually replace the German shepherd as the drug sniffer of choice at some international airports. The U.S. embassy in Colombo is so intrigued with the idea that it has asked the State Department for $10,000 to fund a mongoose training school at the Colombo zoo.

It seems that the tropics do not agree with dogs, who get so tired in the heat that they spend too much time resting. Mongooses have no such problem and are said to have good noses. Moreover, they are less likely to offend sensibilities in Muslim countries, where dogs, especially those nuzzling around in passengers’ luggage, are considered unclean.