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| Photo Credit: Madach |
Honey Badgers are the “most fearless animal in the world” according to the 2002 edition of the Guinness Book of Records.
Honey badgers are jet black except for the gray mantle, separated by a white stripe, extending from the crown to the base of the tail. The colour of the mantle and stripe may vary from one individual to another and often becomes darker with age.
The honey badger is also known as the ratel. The Norwegian for honey badger is Honninggraevling, and the French is “blaireau mange-miel”. In those parts of Africa where Swahili is spoken, the honey badger is called Nyegere.
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| Photo Credit: Francois Retief |
A young / baby of a honey badger is called a ‘kit’. The females are called ‘sow’ and males ‘boar’. A honey badger group is called a ‘cete, colony, set or company’.
A fully grown adult male can stand as high as 30cm, and be up to 1m in total length.
They are normally solitary animals, and are one of the lesser seen African mammals.
They have skin which is very thick and rubbery, to defend them from bites, and they are able to catch and eat even the most deadliest and poisonous snakes.
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| Photo Courtesy of Andrew Bachelor |
Honey badgers have a unique relationship with the greater honey guide. The little bird leads a honey badger to a beehive, and then waits good-naturedly for the honey badger to open up the hive and enjoy the honey and bee larvae. Once the honey badger leaves the hive, the honey guide will then feed on the remaining beeswax.
There is just one species of honey badger, Mellivora capensis.
Litters of 1-2 young are born in nursery dens lined with grass. A young honey badger reaches adult size at around 8 months of age, but stays with its mother until it is at least 14 months of age.
Honey badgers can be very aggressive animals, and have few predators.
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| Photo Credit: Bennie van Zyl |
The badgers striking coloration makes them easily recognizable and they could only be confused with the much smaller Striped polecat (Ictonyx striatus) and Striped weasel (Poecilogale albinucha).
Honey badgers have a distinctive jog-trot.
Sadly, Honey Badgers are near threatened in South Africa due to attacks by bee-keepers, poultry and sheep farmers.
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| Photo Credit: Madach |
The South African Defense Force named their Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV), the Ratel, after the Honey Badger.
A female honey badger has a home range of 100-150 square km.
The honey badger does not have visible ears.
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| Photo Credit: Christiaan Engelrecht |
Honey badgers are accomplished climbers and can easily climb up into the uppermost branches of trees to raid bird nests or bee hives.
Pale chanting-goshawks have been observed following honey badgers. The badgers are powerful, prolific diggers and repeatedly flush rodents and reptiles from their underground refuges, ideal prey for the goshawks.
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