Wild Fact #724 – The World Record Holder – Honey Badger
Yesterday I promised that we would be leaving the ocean to learn about a nice terrestrial animal. I am a man of my word so today we are going to learn about one of the most fierce animals that exists on land, the Honey Badger. This member of the mustelidae family (weasel family) can be found throughout Africa and in parts of south and western Asia including Pakistan and Iraq. I know they may look cute and cuddly but keep reading to find out just how wrong that statement is.
The Honey Badger has incredibly tough skin with a coat described as “hog-like”. Not only do they have cool skin but they also have powerful jaws and front claws that would put X-Men’s Wolverine character to shame. Although these little guys only weigh up to 14 kg (30 lbs) they are designed to be fierce. It is not uncommon to hear stories about the vicious behaviour of the Honey Badger. For example, one such story describes how three Honey Badgers took the kill away from three sub-adult and four half-grown lions. Math may not be my strong suit but according to that story, 3 Badgers took on 7 lions and won. That is impressive.
Honey Badger - Wikimedia
As you may have guessed these animals are deadly carnivores and always seem to be on the hunt for their next meal. They are even known for eating the larvae of African Honey Bees (you know the ones that can kill people). Obviously to do this the Badger needs to rip open their hive and I would think endure quite a few stings from a very deadly insect. I am guessing this is why they are called Honey Badgers. When not after the young Honey Bees the Honey Badger will hunt a variety of other animals including porcupines, meerkats, insects, snakes, young gazelles and even smaller crocodiles. It is not just their pure vicious nature and muscular jaws that makes the Honey Badger such a great predator. They are also very intelligent animals and one of the few known to have used tools to its benefit. In one instance a Honey Badger was observed rolling a log over to the entrance of a cave where he stood on the log to capture a Kingfisher fledgling that was stuck up there. I wonder what was going through the little birds mind when he saw this fierce predator rolling a log to his cave. It actually reminds me of an old Tweety and Sylvester skit, only “Sylvester” wins in this scenario.
Honey Badger Fast Fact – Believe it or not the Honey Badger is actually listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “World’s Most Fearless Creature”. This does make sense since the Honey Badger does not know the meaning of fear and will attack anything no matter how big or strong the opposition might be. You just have to love that type of ferocity.
Before you go, I highly recommend you watch the 3 minute clip below. This video will highlight exactly how vicious and fearless the Honey Badger truly is. There is no doubt in my mind that this animal deserves respect.
September 14th, 2010 at 12:54 AM
This was such an interesting report and video on the honey badger. I cannot believe he is so strong and hardy as to survive a cobra’s bite and continue onward!
September 14th, 2010 at 12:40 PM
I heard somewhere that when they attack or defend themselves from larger animals, they aim for the testicles. I don’t know if it’s true, but so long as I’m not involved I hope it is.
September 15th, 2010 at 4:21 PM
We all watched the video, Tay and I enjoyed it while Camryn made snake hissing noises.
Awesome animals.
September 16th, 2010 at 9:18 PM
Thanks for suggesting the Honey Badger for Wild Facts! I do appreciate all of your great animal suggestions. I would have loved to seen Camryn making hissing noise…lol!
I too am really impressed with the Honey Badger. It definitely ranks high on the list of most impressive animals.
September 16th, 2010 at 9:24 PM
You are absolutely correct, Comment1. I didn’t know how to bring up this topic gently in my post. I also couldn’t write about it without cringing the whole time. It was thought to be a myth that the Honey Badger would go for the “private areas”, however, recently there as been some evidence of them attacking the males most prized possession. If you ask me that is just fighting dirty.
September 16th, 2010 at 9:26 PM
I thought the exact same thing, Carmen.
When I first watched the video I felt sad for the Honey Badger since I thought there was no way he was going to survive the cobra’s bite. Of course I felt no remorse for the nasty snake
These animals are definitely one of the toughest animals that I know about. They are also now one of my favourites.
August 29th, 2011 at 9:13 AM
Forget the Honey Badger! The Golden Eagle is the most fearless animal of all time. Even Honey Badgers fear them!
August 29th, 2011 at 11:02 AM
Just FYI… The snake was not a cobra, but was a puff adder. A cobra bite would not have been survivable as its venom is a neurotoxin as opposed to a puff adder which has more of a hemotoxin like a rattlesnake.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:06 PM
oh my god, Honey Badgers are the Jack Bauers of the animal kingdom.. the bit at the end with the snake, couldn’t stop laughing at the pure audacity of the guy, taking a snake’s lunch right from his mouth, eating it, then killing and eating the peeved snake, getting bit, passing out, waking up and continue eating the damn snake.. then go find another greasy snake and eat it.. what a gangsta!!
August 30th, 2011 at 6:13 AM
hahahhaa… The Jack Bauer of the animal kingdom…that made me laugh out loud.
You are right about their audacity. There is no question the Honey Badger doesn’t care about anything. He does what he wants…except in the case of the Golden Eagle.
Thanks for stopping by Wild Facts.
August 30th, 2011 at 6:15 AM
Thanks Docmarkc!
You are absolutely right. I did say “cobra” in my comment, didn’t I.
I am impressed with your knowledge of venomous snakes. Thanks for clearing things up and for visiting Wild Facts.
August 30th, 2011 at 6:16 AM
I saw the post on Cracked.com about the Golden Eagle and the Honey Badger. That was pretty impressive.
The giant bird of prey has just as much audacity as the fierce Honey Badger.
Thanks for stopping by Wild Facts.
September 11th, 2011 at 12:54 PM
Fears everything except the Golden Eagle, that is. Seriously, that bird is the one thing in this world that gives less damns than the honey badger!
October 17th, 2011 at 7:53 AM
[...] Slapping the word “sugar” on a possum doesn’t make it any more likeable than the most vicious animal on the planet, which happens to have a name that starts with [...]
January 26th, 2012 at 2:34 PM
@Nathan, man that honey badger is very tough animal
January 29th, 2012 at 10:55 PM
It sure is. Definitely one of the toughest animals I know about.
May 1st, 2012 at 12:08 PM
i cant belive a animal could survive a cobra bite and go on
November 15th, 2012 at 2:14 PM
A honey badger can survive ablack mamba bite.
November 23rd, 2012 at 9:44 PM
Post more stuff! That has been my favorite animal since the beginning of the year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!