Ratel Honey Badger Mellivora capensis Mustelidae mammal forest Wildlife nature animal wild Outdoor
Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis), also known as the Ratel, is a member of the Mustelidae family. They are distributed throughout most of Africa and western and south Asian areas of Baluchistan (eastern Iran), southern Iraq, Pakistan and Rajasthan (western India). It is the only species classified in the genus Mellivora and the subfamily Mellivorinae. They have been named the most fearless animal in the Guinness Book of World Records for a number of years. Honey badgers are similar in size and build to the European badger, Meles meles. They are heavily built, with a broad head, small eyes, virtually no external ears, and a relatively blunt snout. The head-and-body length ranges from 60 to 102 cm, plus a tail of 16 to 30 cm. The animal's height at the shoulder can be from 23 to 30 cm. Adult body weights vary from to 14 kg. There is a considerable difference between the sizes of the male and female, with males sometimes weighing up to twice as much as females. The weight range for females is 5 to 10 kg, while males range from 9 to 14 kg. The honey badger is usually found in arid grasslands and savannahs. Honey badgers are fierce carnivores with an extremely keen sense of smell. , by which they will grab a snake behind the head in its jaws and kill it. They are also famous for attacking male humans' testicles when provoked. Honey badgers can devour an entire snake (150 cm/5ft or less) in 15 minutes. Honey badgers have a great appetite for beehives. There have been cases of dead honey badgers being found stung to death within the hives they were trying to eat. Commercial honey producers do not take kindly to this destruction and sometimes shoot, trap, or poison honey badgers they suspect of damaging their hives, although ratel-proof commercial bee hives have been developed.
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