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Honey Badger

South Africa’s reputation as a natural paradise is unrivalled and its reputation for offering Big Game viewing is un-matched. Visitors privileged enough to stopover at the legendary Kruger National Park are in for a truly unique experience as the Park is home to not just the foremost animals Africa has become synonymous with, but to a dizzying array of wildlife the Kruger has become famous for. One of the more interesting creatures on display here is the Honey Badger. Despite their relatively small frames – 250mm in height and 12kg in mass – this small carnivore was listed in the Guinness Book of Records in 2002 as being the “most fearless animal in the world”. While their honey foraging abilities have reached near-legendary status, the ordinary person does not know much about them, nor are the animals themselves often seen out in public. Visitors to the Kruger Park wanting to catch a glimpse of these creatures could possibly see them out either during the day or at night as the badger rotates between being nocturnal in the summer months and diurnal during the winter. Out in the wild, the Honey Badger is most likely to exist mainly at night where human activity is frequent in that area. The Honey Badger’s reputation as a fearless fighter is well-documented with the Park’s first game warden recording two separate incidents where the badger killed a waterbuck and wildebeest by attacking their scrotums. In fact, it is the badger’s black and white fur colourations that are said to provide warnings to other predators about their strengths and capabilities. An interesting fact about the Honey Badger is that it seems to have developed immunity to certain snake bite venoms. This is thought to occur because of the constant interactions they have with small amounts of venoms from snakes, scorpions, and bees especially.