Honey badger—does his name make you think of a cute and cuddly animal?
A honey badger may be cute, but he is certainly not cuddly! This aggressive little animal (20-30 lb) is not afraid of anything! He is mean and always ready to pick a fight.
He is about the same color as a skunk, and many live in South Africa and India. Honey badger has long sharp claws and very powerful teeth which are a big help when fighting other animals. It will even attack larger animals such as lions, hyenas, and large snakes, and fight them fearlessly!
Honey badger may not always win a fight, but he thinks he is invincible!
He is a very smart animal and sometimes listens for insects hiding underground, then digs furiously with those sharp claws to reach a good bite to eat.
Those claws are also used for digging a burrow to hide in or rest. Sometimes honey badgers are lazy and make themselves comfortable in other animals’ dens. They are not picky about where they settle to rest.
Honey badger is not a fussy eater, and will eat anything! Because he is omnivorous, he may devour birds, insects, plants, carrion, and even snakes, because he has a resistance to snake venom. Snakes are a big part of his diet! He also loves honey, which he sometimes robs from hives. He has a thick, rubbery, loose skin, so loose that if caught in an enemy’s mouth, he can sometimes wiggle his body enough to break free.
Honey badger is a member of the weasel family. Like the skunk, he can be very stinky! He has a gland at the base of his tail which contains stinky liquid musk that he sometimes uses to mark territory. When honey badger is in distress or attacked, he will let go of a horrible-smelling stink bomb! Very nasty!
Honey badgers mostly live alone. At birth, young badgers are hairless and blind and will stay with their mother for a long time. Knowing that adult honey badgers mostly live alone shouldn’t be a surprise. Mean, fearless, and also stinky—who would want to live with them?
God has given honey badger the sharp claws, powerful teeth and bite, and stink bombs so he can defend himself and survive in the wild. With all of this nastiness, he is only being a honey badger.
