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Classification

There is just one species of honey badger, Mellivora capensis. It does not belong to the same subfamily as the other "true" badgers (Melinae). Instead it has been placed in a subfamily of its own, the Mellivorinae. Several subspecies have been described. [More info]

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Names

The honey badger is also known as the ratel. The Norwegian for honey badger is Honninggraevling, and the French is le blaireau mange-miel. In those parts of Africa where Swahili is spoken, the honey badger is called Nyegere. [More info]

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Appearance and general characteristics

The honey badger is similar in size and build to the Eurasian badger Meles meles. Its colouration is very different however. It is black, with a grey mantle which covers the top of its head and its back. [More info]

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Distribution

This species has a wide distribution, ranging across most of sub-Saharan Africa (though its occurrence is patchy in southern Africa), West Africa (as far north as Morocco), plus Arabia, the Middle East and much of India. A wide range of habitats is utilised, from dry, open country including plains, steppes, mountainous areas (to 3,000 m), arid scrub and even deserts, to wet grasslands, forests, and rainforests.

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Social organisation

Honey badgers are basically solitary animals. Most sightings of "pairs" of honey badgers are in fact observations of mothers with their young. Occasionally however, small groups of males may be seen. Honey badgers can also been together in places where food supplies are abundant. [More info]

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Activity patterns

The honey badger has been reported to be largely active at dusk and during the night, with daytime activity not uncommon in undisturbed areas and in the vicinity of the den; individuals and pairs have also been seen travelling across their home ranges by day. Colleen and Keith Begg, in the first progress report on their intensive study of honey badgers of South Africa's Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, have reported that honey badger activity is mainly nocturnal during the summer, but switches to being mainly diurnal during the winter.

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Dens

The honey badger is well adapted for digging, and excavates burrows of 1 - 3 metres in length, to depths of 0.25 to 1.5 metres; a single tunnel ends in a chamber, which is usually bare. Nursery chambers are lined with grass. Natural shelters, such as rock crevices and holes under tree roots or old termite mounds are also used, as are the dens of other animals such as aardvarks. The holes of Cape foxes, bat-eared foxes, yellow mongooses and springhares are also taken over and adapted for use by the honey badger.

Colleen and Keith Begg's study in South Africa has shed some light on patterns of den usage by these animals. It appears that, rather like the American badger, the honey badger travels widely over its range, rarely occupying the same hole for more than one night (occasionally, a hole has been used for up to 3 consecutive nights). Of 139 burrows recorded, 34.5% had been dug by a badger that day, 28% were old badger holes being re-used, and 37.5% were holes dug by other animals and modified by the badgers for their use.

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Food and feeding behaviour

The honey badger is largely carnivorous, though it will feed on fruits and other vegetable matter on occasion. The following food items are eaten:

• Small mammals
• Birds
• Reptiles
• Amphibians
• Fish
• Carrion
• Invertebrates
• Honey

[More info]

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Life cycle

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 is at least 14 months of age.

It is not known how long honey badgers live in the wild, but one specimen in captivity lived for 26 years and 5 months. [More info]

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Predators and defences against them

Honey badgers can be very aggressive animals, and have few predators. They have skin which is very thick and rubbery, to defend them from bites. They also have very strong jaws with which to bite back! However, lions and leopards have been known to kill honey badgers on occasion. [More info]

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Picture credits

The honey badger photo used at the head of this Fact File 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.

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