Details
Mellivora capensis
The honey badger is a tough mustelid with thick skin and powerful jaws. It ranges from dry grassland to forest, searching at night for small animals and bee nests.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It occurs across Afrotropical, Palearctic, and Indomalayan savannas, grasslands, deserts, and forests. Even in dry country it uses cover and access to water or prey-rich areas.
Length 55-77 cm; weight 6-16 kg. A low body, strong forelimbs, long claws, grey-white back, and black underside are distinctive. Loose thick skin helps protect it.
Nocturnal and solitary, it is a powerful digger. It opens burrows, logs, and nests while searching for prey.
A carnivore, it eats rodents, reptiles, birds, insects, eggs, and carrion. It also raids bee nests for larvae and honey.
Females rear small litters in burrows. Young travel with the mother for an extended period while learning how to dig and find food.
It is listed as Least Concern. Conflict with beekeeping and poultry can lead to persecution in some areas.
