South African Honey Badger

## About

A honey badger.

The honey badger ***(Mellivora capensis)*** more specifically the South African honey badger, also commonly known as the ratel, is a large carnivorous mustelid native to Africa and areas of Asia. Honey badgers are stocky mammals with strong, large skulls, thick, short necks and small eyes. The front limbs are longer than the hind limbs, giving the species a plantigrade stance, similarly to bears. Though the pelt colouration of individual honey badgers may vary depending on their geographic range, they usually possess a dark grey or black underbelly, limbs, face and sides, as well as a yellowish-white dorsum with black or silver streaks, which extends to their tail, the top of their head and mid way down their sides. The skin of the honey badger is loose and baggy, which creates an excellent defense against piercing attacks, especially against bees, the hives of which the animal often hunts. The baggy and thick skin of the species also allows it to easily turn when being grappled, allowing a greater range of attack and defense. Long claws present on the paws make the honey badger an even more formidable foe and a less appetising prey item for larger carnivores. African honey badgers are larger than their Asian counterparts and both exhibit sexual dimorphism. Males can grow to 60-70cm (23.62-27.56in) long, ranging 25cm (9.84in) at shoulder height and can weigh up to 8-12kg (17.62-26.43lbs). Male individuals from the Kalahari desert were found to be a full third larger than females. elderly males are the most different to other individuals in terms of appearance, being known as 'scarbacks', in reference to the typical scarring and wounds they retain throughout their lives.

## Diet

Honey badgers often scavenge or steal carcasses from larger predators however, this is not to say the species cannot hunt for itself. They often hunt a variety of prey items including; insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and even other mammals, such as livestock. Contrary to popular belief, honey badgers are not obligate carnivores and are known to eat roots, bulbs, berries and occasionally fruits. Interestingly, honey badgers get the majority of their moisture from the tsamma melon ***(Citrullus lanatus)***, rather than available water. The honey badger is named for its love of eating honey and bee larvae. It is often said that the honey badger works mutualistically in a symbiotic relationship with the greater honeyguide ***(Indicator indicator)***, in order to find beehives. This fact has often been disputed, mostly due to lack of supporting evidence to the claim. Honey badgers have been known to have a tendency to target species of venomous and constrictor snakes, which is a characteristic trait of many mustelids. They often win these fights, as the specialised skin of the honey badger makes it very difficult to inject venom into the actual animal's body.

## Conservation Status

Honey badgers are classed as least concern by the IUCN however, this does not mean the species is without threats. In particular, African honey badgers are seen as pests throughout much of their range, to the point where agriculturists often trap or poison honey badgers in an effort to keep them away from livestock. Accidental casualties often occur through agricultural culling aimed to deal with jackals and caracals ***(Caracal caracal)***. There is evidence to say that the honey badger has gone regionally extinct in some of its former range due to excessive poisoning and trapping. Even in areas of Northern Africa, -where the species abundance is sparse-, it is still facing the same threats by agricultural development, particularly in the Southern parts of Morocco.

## Range and Population

Honey badgers have a widespread range throughout the majority of sub-Saharan Africa however, they do not occur in any of Africa's Island nations. They occur in many biomes and environments from arid regions and savannas to humid rainforests and even urban areas. Despite their adaptivity, honey badgers have never historically occurred in Northern Africa. It is often seldom-known that the honey badger actually occurs throughout Asia as well, existing abundantly in India, Iran, central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula. It is often argued that the honey badgers that exist in Turkmenistan and central Asia specifically are there own subspecies. the exact population of the honey badger is unclear and thought to be declining. The decline is almost definitely a result of the species' bad reputation in local areas, as honey badgers are a target for trapping and poisoning (as previously mentioned).

## Behaviour

Honey badgers are nomadic, meaning they travel while foraging daily. While female honey badgers can travel 10km (6.2mi) in search of food, males can travel more than double, around 27km (16.7mi) daily. After foraging male honey badgers in particular will congregate with other individuals, exchanging sniffing and grunting interactions, whilst rolling in the sand. It is unclear as to why they do this. Honey badgers are also both crepuscular and nocturnal, being more active at twilight and night than in the day. As burrowing species, honey badgers rest underground. In order to mark their burrow as their territory, honey badgers will urinate, produce a musk via their scent glands and defecate in their burrows, deterring other species from their homes. If another honey badger intrudes in one's burrow, the two will perform a dominance display/dance and the winner will keep the burrow as the rightful owner. The dominance dance itself includes the dominant male moving and rotating his body wildly, while the subordinate males typically remain unmoving. Honey badgers have earnt a reputation for being extremely aggressive animals, even being listed as the 'Most Fearless Animal in the World' in the 2002 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. They live up to this reputation and male honey badgers in particular will ferociously defend their breeding partners. In fact, honey badgers are known to effectively intimidate predators that are much larger than themselves, such as leopards. Honey badgers are relatively vocal animals and adults will typically communicate by yelping in a manner similar to a shortened bark. Much of the data supporting honey badger breeding habits was gathered from a 42 month study conducted in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park in Southern Africa and thus, not a whole lot of information is known about the species specific breeding habits. In this area, honey badgers are known to breed prolifically year-round however, it is more common to find them breeding in drier seasons, such as September-December. Though much of our modern reports on honey badger behaviour relies on the presumption that they are a solitary species, earlier reports, -such as the 1910 paper by Drake-Brockman-, encourages the notion that honey badgers may travel in male-female pairs. Offspring are dependent on their mother for 12-16 months and due to this, there are often more receptive males available during breeding seasons rather than females. The dominance that a larger male typically holds, does not always dictate whether he will successfully breed with a female. Evidence has shown from one study that included eight males and females, with the dominant male only fathering half of the ten cubs. Female honey badgers go through a period of estrous for a minimum time frame of 2 weeks. After mating, the gestation period lasts 50-70 days and the father plays no role in rearing the offspring. It is likely only one offspring is reared at a time and it will stay in the burrow up until it is weaned at 3 months. however, as honey badgers are nomadic, the mother will often carry her cub to a new den on an average of every 3 days. The mother will continue to care for her cub until it reaches 1-2 years of age. Female honey badgers reach the age of sexual maturity far earlier than males, at around 12-16 months old, whereas males reach it at 3 years old. As other mustelids are capable of delayed implantation, it can be inferred that honey badgers share this trait however, reproductive studies conducted on individuals who inhabit the Kalahari, do not support this notion.

### Relationship with Humans

As previously mentioned, honey badgers are not welcomed in urban and agricultural areas, often being trapped and poisoned if they occur in these areas. Honey badgers have long been believed to threaten local livestock and so are killed often in defense. Honey badgers have also been known for their incredible feats of intelligence and tool use, often breaking into barns or pens to attack sheep and goats, or breaking into coops to kill chickens. A male individual, named 'Stoffel', has become famous for his craftiness, often escaping from his enclosure in methods that exhibit the honey badger's true resourcefulness, as shown here. Stoffel continued planned escapes even after being mauled by lions.

## In Captivity

Despite their popularity, honey badgers are not common in captivity however, they can be found prolifically in roadside and rural zoos in Southern Africa. As for larger facilities, the honey badger exists only in four zoos, including the San Diego Zoo, USA and the Moscow Zoo, Russia.

## Sources

* IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41629/45210107
* Honey Badger | SANBI - https://www.sanbi.org/animal-of-the-week/honey-badger/
* Honey Badger | Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology - https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Mellivora\_capensis/
* South African Ratel | ZOOINSTITUTES - https://zooinstitutes.com/animals/south-african-ratel-3916/#
* Honey Badger | TheHoneyBadger.Com - http://www.honeybadger.com/diet.html
* A Honey Badger and Mole Snake Fight to the Death | Smithsonian Channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkvLCjFiODw
* Stoffel, the honey badger that can escape from anywhere! | BBC - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c36UNSoJenI
* What Do Honey Badgers Eat? | A-Z Animals - https://a-z-animals.com/blog/what-do-honey-badgers-eat/