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Image: Honey badger (Mellivora capensis).
Home » Honey badger (Mellivora capensis) » Articles :
Discover more about the honey badger's social life, its home range, and whether this range is defended as a territory.
On this page: Social organisation | Home ranges | Territories | Related Badger Pages
Honey badgers are basically solitary creatures. There have however been observations of several honey badgers together in one place, usually where a plentiful food source attracts animals from over a wide area. A study of honey badgers in Zimbabwe has also revealed that Mellivora may be more social than has previously been thought, with interactions between as many as 5 badgers being observed. Colleen and Keith Begg, working in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa, observed on 3 occasions 2 male honey badgers foraging together quite amicably for up to 2 days at a time. Pairs of males and females have also been watched, but adult females have never been seen foraging together. They have also observed an adult male foraging with an adult female and her subadult female offspring.
Mellivora occupies large home ranges which may be several square kilometres in size. The Beggs have found that females have ranges averaging 139 square kilometres, while the males have huge ranges which average 638 square kilometres. There is some overlap between the ranges occupied by the females, but they avoid each other. Male ranges also overlap with each other to some extent, and encompass the ranges of several females.
There does not appear to be any evidence to suggest that honey badger ranges are defended as territories. However, features within a range such as tree roots, holes, crevices, tufts of grass and patches of bare ground, particularly near the den, are marked with secretions from the anal glands. These secretions are said to be stamped in once deposited. The Beggs have reported that honey badgers use latrines, where they defaecate, urinate and set scent. These latrines are used by both males and females and appear to be very important for communication. The latrines consist of 2 - 40 droppings, scattered over an area of 1 - 3 square metres. Droppings are also deposited at intervals along foraging routes, and it has been noted that most single droppings (73%) are deposited in holes or shallow depressions. These may well act as scent messages, as honey badgers regularly investigate holes and crevices while foraging.
It is thought likely that members of a family will also mark each other with their anal gland secretions, as young honey badgers raised in captivity frequently scent mark their owners.
Find out about the social organisation, home ranges and territories of:
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The honey badger photo used at the head of this Article is © Tim Davis / Photo Researchers, Inc. Used with the permission of the (External) 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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