Back to: Top / Contents

Breeding - from mating to cub birth

The breeding biology of the honey badger is poorly understood. It is possible that in part this is because the breeding biology of the species may vary across its huge geographic range.

In southern Africa, Colleen and Keith Begg have found that the honey badger does not have a fixed breeding season, so that mating may occur at any time of year. Delayed implantation does not take place, and the cubs are born following a gestation period of 6 - 8 weeks (this has also been noted in Israel). As a consequence, cubs are born throughout the year.

Information from zoos conflicts with the above observations, in that gestation periods of about 6 months (153 days in one case, 162 days in another) have been recorded. This indicates the occurrence of delayed implantation. It appears that delayed implantation also occurs in some wild populations. In Turkemania (Asia) for instance, breeding apparently follows a regular pattern, with mating taking place in the autumn and births occurring in the spring. It may be that delayed implantation is confined to honey badgers living in the northern parts of the species' range where there are distinct seasons. In such areas, delayed implantation would enable the honey badger to give birth at the time of year which gives their offspring the best chance of survival.

Back to: Top / Contents

Development - from cub to adult

The number of young in a litter is another aspect of the honey badger's breeding biology which seems to be in dispute. Many sources state that honey badgers give birth to between 1 and 4 young. However, Colleen and Keith Begg have found no evidence to confirm claims of more than 2 young in a litter. In the Kalahari, they found that only one cub was reared at a time. It would be interesting to obtain reliable reports of litter sizes from other parts of the honey badger's range, to see whether litter sizes are greater in better quality habitats where food supplies are more abundant.

The young are born in a nursery den which is lined with grassy bedding material. Colleen and Keith Begg have found that mother honey badgers will move their cubs to new dens every 2 - 5 days. At first the young are blind, and naked except for a little facial hair. By the time their eyes open at the age of 5 weeks, they have developed the markings of adults. The eyes open after 8 weeks. The young first come above ground when they are around 3 months old, and by the age of 8 months they may approach adult size. This means that a male cub will be larger than his mother.

A young honey badger stays with its mother for some considerable time before dispersing. The Beggs, during their research in the Kalahari, observed a subadult female who was at least a year old, still foraging with her mother almost constantly. They found that youngsters stayed with their mothers for at least 14 months, and suggest that this is because the young need a long time to learn the skills that are necessary for them to survive on their own.

Picture used with the kind permission of Safaricam Live (www.safaricamlive.com).

Back to: Top / Contents

Longevity - how long honey badgers live

A honey badger in San Diego Zoo lived for 26 years and 5 months, and other captive animals have lived for up to 24 years. No doubt life expectancy in the wild is rather shorter, but I have found no information regarding the honey badger's natural lifespan.

Back to: Top / Contents

References

b001, b003-01, b004, b006, b010, b011, w178-01.

Additional picture credits

The honey badger photo used at the head of this Article is © Tim Davis / Photo Researchers, Inc. Used with the permission of the Northern Ohio Ferret Association. Credits for the photos used in the right-hand margin of this page for site navigation can be found on the Credits page.

Back to: Top / Contents