A new study has unveiled India’s first complete hair-based identification system for all six mongoose species, giving enforcement agencies a crucial forensic tool that makes it far harder for traffickers to disguise illegal mongoose hair in everyday products.
For decades, India’s mongoose-hair trade has thrived in the shadows—small enough to escape public attention but large enough for thousands of animals to be killed each year.
Although every Indian mongoose species is protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act and commercial trade is strictly banned, paintbrushes made with their coarse, springy hair continue to surface in workshops and markets across the country.
Brushes made out of mongoose hair (Sourced by The Telegraph)
The biggest obstacle, enforcement officers say, has always been proof. A brush looks like any other brush. A tuft of hair looks like any other fibre. Without certainty, cases collapse before they begin.
This is the gap the new study addresses.
Published in Discover Conservation, the research introduces what the authors call a “comprehensive tricho-taxonomic identification system” — essentially, a forensic catalogue of microscopic hair features for all six mongoose species found in India.
These include the Small Indian Mongoose, Indian Grey Mongoose, Indian Brown Mongoose, Ruddy Mongoose, Crab-eating Mongoose, and Stripe-necked Mongoose.
The different mongoose species found in India (Sourced by The Telegraph)
Despite their ecological importance—controlling rodents, snakes and various invertebrates—these small carnivores have been targeted because their hair is prized by fine-art and textile industries for its stiffness and spring.
The study’s innovation lies in its simplicity: it relies solely on hair. By analysing museum specimens housed at the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), the research team documented species-specific hair characteristics under the microscope, from cuticular scale patterns to medulla structures. These were then validated through statistical modelling to ensure reliability, even when officers have only partial or damaged strands to examine.
Dr. M. Kamalakannan, the ZSI scientist who co-led the effort, said: “This research fills a critical forensic gap by providing species-level identification tools based entirely on hair morphology. It will greatly assist wildlife enforcement agencies in identifying mongoose hair in seized items and curbing illegal trade. The study will also serve as a useful and cost-effective reference for identifying mongoose species in India.”
The challenge has always been that traffickers adapt quickly.
Hair is trimmed, dyed, mixed with synthetic fibres, or blended with hair from other animals. Much of what is seized arrives as fragments: a few strands stuck to a brush handle or swept up from a workshop floor. Traditional identification methods struggle under such conditions. That is why the study’s focus on microscopic patterning, less likely to be altered by processing, offers a new advantage.
Dr. Shantanu Kundu, a collaborator from Pukyong National University in South Korea, said: “Our combination of microscopic analysis and statistical modelling provides a scientifically solid baseline. These findings can also complement future molecular or DNA-based approaches to further enhance accuracy in species identification.”
For the ZSI, which receives wildlife confiscations, the study strengthens its mandate.
Director Dr. Dhriti Banerjee noted that agencies nationwide regularly send paintbrushes suspected of containing mongoose hair for analysis.
“ZSI regularly receives confiscated materials from enforcement agencies across the country, including paintbrushes suspected to contain mongoose hair, for species identification. ZSI provides the scientific analysis required to support investigations and curb illegal trade. This study further strengthens our wildlife forensic capabilities and will assist frontline agencies in protecting India’s native biodiversity.”