(no subject)
'Why isn't it called the Badger of Death?' - Richard Hammond
The Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis), also known as Ratel, looks cute enough, hell, even its name suggests nothing but adorable fluffiness.
It's often said that honey badgers have no true enemies asides from humans and other honey badgers. Despite being a relatively small sized carnivore (just the same size as the standard European Badger), the honey badger has been known to take on scorpions, porcupines, hares, tortoises, pole-cats, deadly snakes such as the Puff Adder and Cobra, and in some occurrences, even crocodiles. And win. Even big cats such as lions and leopards have been reported to avoid honey badgers if possible, and will even move away from just killed prey when they approach.
Oh, and the honey badger as a reputation for killing other animals by attacking the scrotum, then leaving the unfortunate creature to bleed to death.
On top of that, the honey badger has as much defence as a tank. A honey badger has extremely loose, tough, rubbery skin, which is resistant to bites and stings from other animals. It is said that the honey badger can twist around in its skin, so that it can bite an attacker even when it is being held by the back of the neck. The honey badger can take countless stings from African honey bees, and can even survive a bite from the deadly puff adder.
Teamed with a powerful bite and the ability to spray like a skunk, it only tends to be the very old or injured honey badgers who can be taken down by another animal asides from a human. And even then it's a battle to the bitter end. In one case, shown on an episode of Animal Planet, an old female honey badger that was nearly toothless and had one blind eye was attacked by a leopard. It took the leopard about one hour to kill the honey badger.
And to make the creature an all rounder, it's thought that the honey badger is also very intelligent, enough to dig small mammals out of their burrows, and even to use basic 'tools' as a way of getting to their prey, such as pulling logs in place to catch a prey higher up. Any zoos that house honey badgers have to keep them in a pit to protect the keepers and the public.
In short, honey badgers sound cute, but that would be very misleading.
The Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis), also known as Ratel, looks cute enough, hell, even its name suggests nothing but adorable fluffiness.
It's often said that honey badgers have no true enemies asides from humans and other honey badgers. Despite being a relatively small sized carnivore (just the same size as the standard European Badger), the honey badger has been known to take on scorpions, porcupines, hares, tortoises, pole-cats, deadly snakes such as the Puff Adder and Cobra, and in some occurrences, even crocodiles. And win. Even big cats such as lions and leopards have been reported to avoid honey badgers if possible, and will even move away from just killed prey when they approach.
Oh, and the honey badger as a reputation for killing other animals by attacking the scrotum, then leaving the unfortunate creature to bleed to death.
Click to viewOn top of that, the honey badger has as much defence as a tank. A honey badger has extremely loose, tough, rubbery skin, which is resistant to bites and stings from other animals. It is said that the honey badger can twist around in its skin, so that it can bite an attacker even when it is being held by the back of the neck. The honey badger can take countless stings from African honey bees, and can even survive a bite from the deadly puff adder.
Teamed with a powerful bite and the ability to spray like a skunk, it only tends to be the very old or injured honey badgers who can be taken down by another animal asides from a human. And even then it's a battle to the bitter end. In one case, shown on an episode of Animal Planet, an old female honey badger that was nearly toothless and had one blind eye was attacked by a leopard. It took the leopard about one hour to kill the honey badger.
And to make the creature an all rounder, it's thought that the honey badger is also very intelligent, enough to dig small mammals out of their burrows, and even to use basic 'tools' as a way of getting to their prey, such as pulling logs in place to catch a prey higher up. Any zoos that house honey badgers have to keep them in a pit to protect the keepers and the public.
In short, honey badgers sound cute, but that would be very misleading.