Honey Badger

Honey Badger
ラーテル
Character Data
AKA		Ratel
Romaji		Rāteru
Debut		Kemono Friends (2015 Game)
Animal Data
Scientific Name		Mellivora capensis
Distribution		Africa, Southwest Asia, the Indian subcontinent
Diet		Omnivore
Avg. Lifespan		24 Years
Read More		Honey badger
Conservation

Honey Badger

Manga

Pavilion

KF3

Nexon Game

Gallery

The Honey Badger is a type of Mustelid Friend that appeared in the original Kemono Friends mobile game.

Appearance

Old Design

Honey Badger has gray eyes, hip-length sandy-tan hair that fades to white for a small portion on her scalp before turning gray and then black towards the tips. Her long animal tail follows the same pattern but inverted, and she has a pair of small, circular gray ears at the top of her head. She wears a sandy-tan collared shirt with a red tie and a gray-blue cardigan over top. A red cape is attached to her uniform by two gold buttons on the shoulders. She wears a sandy-tan pleated skirt that turns a bit darker at the bottom with laced shoes that match the coloration of her skirt, and black leggings/pantyhose. She wears a band-aid on her nose and has a fierce expression, posed with her fists up.

Redesign

Honey Badger now has brown eyes and white hair that sticks out wider and rests on top of her animal ears, which are now on the sides of her head above her human ears. Her thigh-length hair turns black in a stripe formation around the area of her ears, and then changes back to white. Her eyebrows are thicker, she has a scar on her left cheek, and her black tail is fluffy and uniformly shaped with a white tip, however she keeps the band-aid on her nose. Honey Badger wears a low-collar, almost-black shirt that has thumb-holes and a black jacket with gold buttons and sleeves folded up to her elbows over top of it. She also has a black pleated skirt and athletic leggings that are almost-black colored to mid-thigh and then are black to her ankles, with holes around the front of her ankles in an oval shape that stick out over her shoes. Her shoes are black with a ribbon-bow tied just below the tongue, and the nose of the shoe is gray and segmented like an animal paw. She stands with her hand in a gesturing "come here" motion, holding a tattered red cape in her left hand.

Series Appearances

Appearances In Kemono Friends Media

Media		Role	First Appearance
2015	Nexon Game	↪ Minor character, playable character
2015	Kemono Friends: Welcome to Japari Park!	↪ Minor character	Chapter 9
2018	Kemono Friends Pavilion	↪ Observable character
2019	Kemono Friends 3	↪ Minor character, playable character
2019	Kemono Friends 3: Planet Tours	↪ Photo illustration
2022	Pachislot Kemono Friends	↪ Photo illustration

In Real Life

A Honey Badger in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Photo by user Sumeet Moghe.

The Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis), or the "ratel", is a mustelid found in Africa, Southwest Asia, and India. It is the only living species in the genus Mellivora and in the mustelid subfamily Mellivorinae. Despite "badger" being in the name, they are not closely related to actual badgers; they are more closely related and have more anatomical similarities to weasels.

Similar to other species in the Mustelid family, Honey Badgers have long bodies with a thick-set, broad back. Their skin is very loose, allowing them to twist and turn with great agility. The skin itself is incredibly thick, giving them an edge in defense against possible predators. Each short yet sturdy leg has five toes with very strong claws. The tail is rather short compared to the body, and is covered in long fur save for the bottom base.

Considered the "largest terrestrial mammal" in Africa, mature adults can measure 23 to 28 cm (9.1 to 11.0 in) to the shoulder height and 55–77 cm (22–30 in) in body length, with the tail adding another 12–30 cm (4.7–11.8 in). There is slight sexual dimorphism with the females being smaller than the males: male specimens found in Africa range from 9 to 16 kg (20 to 35 lb), whereas female specimens from the same continent weigh 5 to 10 kg (11 to 22 lb). The average mean weight of multiple specimens found over several continents is recorded to be anywhere between 6.4 to 12 kg (14 to 26 lb). These statistics place the Honey Badger as the third largest known badger, behind the European badger and hog badger.

A Honey badger in the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, Al-Malha, Al-Quds (Jerusalem). Photo by user Jaffacity.

They are mainly solitary creatures, but have been known to hunt in pairs during the breeding season. They are also known to reuse old burrows made by Aardvarks and Warthogs. The aforementioned long front claws make them skilled diggers, and are able to dig tunnels into hard ground in 10 minutes or less. These burrows usually have only one entry, and are only about 1–3 m (3 ft. 3 in – 9 ft. 10 in) long.

The Honey Badger is famous for its strength, ferocity and toughness. It is known to savagely and fearlessly attack almost any other species when escape is seemingly impossible. They're even known to go after much larger predators such as lions and hyenas. Thanks to their thick skin, minor attacks such as bee stings, porcupine quills, and other animal bites rarely hurt them. If larger prey animals (such as horses or cattle) intrude upon a honey badger's burrow, it will attack them without hesitation.

Despite their rough and tumble nature, they are not without their own predators. Potential predators include African leopards and African rock pythons.

Honey Badgers are not picky eaters. Their preferred food, honey and bee larvae, is found by actively raiding beehives. Other meals include various insects, frogs, tortoises, turtles, lizards, small rodents, snakes, birds and even eggs. When meat is scarce, they'll forage for fruits and vegetables such as berries, roots and bulbs. Livestock such as domestic sheep and goats are also fair game if they're hungry enough. Several reports from the Kalahari region also show Honey Badgers have attacked and eaten the highly venomous Black Mamba snake.

Very little is known about the breeding habits- gestation lasts around six months and results in up to two cubs. The cubs are born blind and helpless. The lifespan in the wild is unknown, though individuals in human care have been known to live for 24 years.

The renowned aggressiveness and persistence has caused a strained relationship with humans. They are notorious for going after poultry on farms. Reports have stated Honey Badger will tear thick planks from hen-houses or burrow underneath stone foundations. Surplus killing is common during these cases, with one incident in particular resulting in the death of 17 Muscovy ducks and 36 chickens. Because of the toughness and looseness of their skin, these mustelids are very difficult to kill with dogs. Their skin is hard to penetrate, and its looseness allows them to twist and turn on their attackers when held. The only safe place to grip a Honey Badger is on the scruff of the neck.

Trivia

• 

  From a postcard of Kemono Friends World.
  One of Mine Yoshizaki's early concept art sketches for Kemono Friends 2 show Honey Badger, who uses an abandoned car as her home with Serval, although Honey Badger was left unused for the Kemono Friends 2 anime.
• The Honey Badger was first described in 1777 by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber, in which he described a pelt found in the Cape of Good Hope.
• The animal's claws on the hind legs are significantly shorter than the claws on the front legs, helping with digging and with fighting.
• As of 2005, there are 12 recognized subspecies of Honey Badger, including the Cape Ratel, Indian Ratel, and Black Ratel.
• The Guinness Book of World Records named them the most fearless animal in the world.
• It is likely that the Honey Badger also has resistance to snake venom, although the exact physiological mechanism has not been demonstrated.
• Despite popular belief, there is no evidence that honeyguide birds guide the honey badger.
• Their aggressiveness and fearlessness has lead to many memes on the Internet, including the early 2000's Badger Badger Badger "music video" and the tagline "Honey Badger Don't Care".

References

• Wikipedia Page
• Rosevear, D. R. (1974). The Carnivores of West Africa. London: British Museum (Natural History). ISBN 978-0-565-00723-2
• Vanderhaar, J. M. & Yeen Ten Hwang (2003). "Mellivora capensis" (PDF). Mammalian Species (721): 1–8. doi:10.1644/0.721.1.
• Lenain, D. & Ostrowski, S. (1998). "Opportunistic predation of trapped mammals by the ratel, Mellivora capensis wilsoni". Zoology in the Middle East. 16 (1): 13–18. doi:10.1080/09397140.1998.10637750.
• Do Linh San, E.; Begg, C.; Begg, K. & Abramov, A.V. (2016). "Mellivora capensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T41629A45210107. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41629A45210107.en.
• Hunter, L. (2011). Carnivores of the World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-15228-8.
• Schreber, J. C. D. (1777). "Das Stinkbinksen". Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen. Erlangen: Wolfgang Walther. pp. 450–451.
• Dean, W. R. J.; Siegfried, W. R.; MacDonald, I. A. W. (1990). "The Fallacy, Fact, and Fate of Guiding Behavior in the Greater Honeyguide". Conservation Biology. 4 (1): 99–101. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.1990.tb00272.x.
• KnowYourMeme.com