Africa's toughest mustelid wears armour of loose skin
The honey badger, or ratel, ranges from sub-Saharan Africa through Arabia to India as the only living Mellivorinae. Loose hide lets it twist inside its own skin, neck skin reaches about 6 millimetres thick, and IUCN lists the species as Least Concern.
Mellivora capensis is Africa's largest terrestrial mustelid: body length about 55 to 77 centimetres, shoulder height 23 to 28 centimetres, African males typically 9 to 16 kilograms and females 5 to 10. The Latin name means honey-eater; the type came from the Cape of Good Hope, described by Schreber in 1777. It is closer to martens than to true Melinae badgers and sits alone in Mellivorinae, with about a dozen subspecies recognised in 2005.
Mostly solitary and largely carnivorous, it digs out prey, raids hives for larvae and honey, and swallows skin, bone, and feathers alike. In Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, geckos and skinks made up about 48 percent of prey species recorded and gerbils and mice about 40 percent; observers also saw black mambas taken. Neck-thick skin, tiny ear ridges, and pungent anal-gland spray help it face lions, hyenas, and bees. Male home ranges average about 548 square kilometres versus about 138 for females, often overlapping many breeding females.
Breeding is not seasonal; gestation lasts roughly 50 to 70 days and usually yields one or two cubs that stay with the mother for about a year to fifteen months. Burrows dug in minutes often run only 1 to 3 metres with a single entrance. Fossil relatives such as Mellivora benfieldi reach back at least seven million years. Pop culture emphasises fearlessness; field studies in the Serengeti found large predators did not depress honey-badger numbers.
Source: Honey badger
