Honey badger

Honey badger Temporal range: middlePliocene– Recent
Conservation status
Least Concern(IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Subfamily:	Mellivorinae Gray,1865
Genus:	Mellivora Storr,1780
Species:	M. capensis
Binomial name
Mellivora capensis (Schreber,1776)
Distribution

Skeleton from the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle,Paris

Thehoney badgerorratel(Mellivora capensis) is a type ofmustelid.It lives inAfrica,theMiddle East,and theIndian subcontinent.

Despite its name, the honey badger does not look much like other types ofbadgers.It looks more like aweasel.It mostlyeats meat,and does not have manypredatorsbecause of its thick skin and tough defensive ability.

Taxonomy

The honey badger is the only member of thegenusMellivora.Although it was first put to the badger group in the 1860s, they do not have much in common with the subfamilyMelinae.They are closer to themartenfamily.

Physical description

The honey badger has a fairly long body, but is thick set and broad across the back. Its skin is loose, and lets it to turn and twist freely within it.The skin around the neck is 6 millimetres (0.24 in) thick, anadaptationto fighting each other.The head is small and flat, with a short muzzle. The eyes are small, and the ears are little more than ridges on the skin.These are also possible adaptations to avoiding damage while fighting.

The honey badger has short and sturdy legs, with five toes on each foot. The feet have very strong claws, which are short on the hind legs and very long on the forelimbs. It is a partiallyplantigradeanimal whosesolesare thickly padded and naked up to thewrists.Thetailis short and is covered in long hairs, except below the base.

Adults are 23 to 28 centimetres (9.1 to 11.0 in) in shoulder height and 68–75 cm in body length, with females being smaller than males.Males weigh 12 to 16 kilograms (26 to 35 lb) while females weigh 9.1 kg.

The honey badger has ananalpouch, atraitshared withhyenas.The smell of the pouch is said to be "suffocating", and may help calmbeeswhen raiding beehives.

Fur

Its winter fur is long, with some coarse, bristle-like hairs. There are fewer hairs on the side, belly, and groin. The summer fur is shorter and has even fewer hairs, with the belly being half bare. The sides of the heads and lower body are pure black in colour. A large white band covers their upper bodies, beginning from the top of their heads down to the base of their tails.

Habits

Black ratel (M. c. cottoni)

Honey badgers live alone in self-dug holes. They are good diggers, being able to dig tunnels into hard ground in 10 minutes. These burrows always only have one passage and a nesting chamber and are usually not large, about 1–3 metres long. They do not put bedding in the nesting chamber.Although they usually dig their own burrows, they may take overaardvarkandwarthogholes that are no longer being used, ortermitemounds.

Honey badgers are smart animals and are one of few species able to usetools.In the 1997 documentary seriesLand of the Tiger,a honey badger in India was filmed using a tool; the animal rolled a log and stood on it to reach akingfisherfledgling stuck up in the roots coming from the ceiling in an underground cave.

Honey badgers are fearless and tough animals. They are known to savagely attack their enemies when they cannot escape. They are tireless in combat and can wear out much larger animals in fights.The fact that most predators do not want to hunt honey badgers has led to the theory that the countershaded coats ofcheetahkittensevolvedto look like the honey badger in order to keep predators away.This would be an example ofmimicry.

The voice of the honey badger is a hoarse "khrya-ya-ya-ya"sound. When mating, males make loud grunting sounds.Cubs vocalise through whines. When attacked bydogs,honey badgers scream likebearcubs.

Diet

Honey badgers have the least specialised diet among mustelids.In undeveloped areas, honey badgers may hunt at any time of the day, though they becomenocturnalin places with high human populations. When hunting, honey badgers trot with their fore-toes turned in, moving at the same speed as a young man. Despite their name, honey badgers mostly eat meat, and will take any sort of animal food at hand, includingcarrion,smallrodents,birds,eggs,insects,lizards,tortoisesandfrogs.They will eat fruit and vegetables such asberries,rootsandbulbs.

They may hunt frogs and rodents such asgerbilsandground squirrelsby digging them out of their burrows. Honey badgers are able to feed on tortoises without difficulty, due to their powerful jaws. They kill and eat snakes, even highly venomous or large ones. They have dug up human corpses in India.They devour all parts of their prey, including skin, hair, feathers, flesh and bones, holding their food down with their forepaws.When seeking vegetable food, they lift stones or tear bark from trees.

Range

The species can be found through most ofSub-Saharan Africafrom theWestern Cape,South Africa,to southernMoroccoand southwesternAlgeria.OutsideAfricait lives throughArabia,Iranand westernAsiatoTurkmenistanand theIndian subcontinent.

Relationships with humans

Honey badgers often killchickensthat humans are raising for food. Because of their strength and persistence, they are difficult to keep away. They are known to rip thick planks from hen-houses or burrow underneath stone foundations.

Because of their tough, loose skin, honey badgers are difficult to kill with dogs. Their skin is hard to get through, and its looseness allows them to twist and turn on their attackers when held. The only safe grip on a honey badger is on the back of the neck. The skin is also tough enough to resist severalmacheteblows. The only sure way of killing them quickly is through a blow to the skull with a club or a shot to the head with a powerful rifle, as their skin is almost proof againstarrowsandspears.

Other websites

• Vanderhaar, Jane M.; Hwang, Yeen Ten,Mellivora capensis,Published 30 July 2003 by the American Society of Mammalogists