Honey+Badger

=**The Honey Badger**=

//Mellivora capensis//

 * ==Scientific classification== ||
 * = Domain ||= Eukarya ||
 * = Kingdom ||= Animalia ||
 * = Phylum ||= Chordata ||
 * = Class ||= Mammalia ||
 * = Order ||= Carnivora ||
 * = Family ||= Mustelidae ||
 * = Genus ||= //Mellivora// ||
 * = Specieis ||= //M. capensis// ||

**__Habit:__**
The Ratel (honey badger) inhabits most of Africa, avoiding hot and wet climates like those of the forests and deserts, and goes on to occupy parts of the Middle East, and goes on into India. Like stated, it does not live in deserts where the climate is hot and arid, nor the jungles where it is too wet and dense. This lone predator travels far and wide in search of food.



__**Physiology:**__
The honey badger, on average, has a combined head and body length anywhere between 231/ 2 - 271/ 2 inches (2 - 2.4 feet) and a tail around the length of .9 feet (8 - 12 inches). They are heavily built, with broad heads, small eyes, virtually no external ears, and a relatively blunt snout. It uses it's strong claws to dig into the borrows of different animals that it uses as shelter every now and then. It's claws are also very useful for breaking into the bee hives in order to take the honey/larvae. The honey badger also has a self defense mechanism. It emitts foul scented anal secretions to discourage enemies.

Resource competition:
The honey badger is a nomad, it rarely stays in a certain location for long. It is always on the move, crossing savannahs, deserts, forests on it's hunt for food. It is constantly in search for food, nearly never resting inbetween kills.

Mutualism:
The honey badger and the honeyguide (a bird) show a mutual relationship. The honeyguide leads the badger in the direction of near-by honey hives. The badger then breaks into the hive, steals the honey, and repays the honeyguide by sharing the honey with it.

Predation:
A vicious omnivore, the honey badger kills all that it can lay its hands on. It attacks and eats earthworms, insects, scorpions, porcupines, hares, ground squirrels, meerkats, mongeese, lizards, small rodents, birds, and larger prey such as tortoises, crocodiles up to one metre in size, young gazelle and snakes. There is video evidence of a confrontation of a honey badger and a puff adder (venomous snake) where the badger spontaneously takes the food straight out of the snakes mouth, and willingly strikes, kills, and eats the snake because the previous meal was not enough. It also eats fruit.



**__Reproduction:__**
Honey badgers usually live solitary lives, with no paternal involvement in parental care. The mating of the honey badger is usually in September and October, and the cubs are born around April and May, after about a six month gestation period. The mother spends the next 2 years nurturing the cub(s) and carrying it/them with her until they reach the of 1 year. After that, they spend the next year learning skill and behavior from their mother.

For a visual of the honey badger's awesome display of aggression, check out this video and stuff:
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__Works cited:__
- Hiller, C. 1999. "Mellivora capensis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 30, 2011. []

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- "Ratel." //Encyclopedia Americana.// Grolier Online, 2011. Web. 2 May. 2011. __http://ea.grolier.com/article?id=0328870-00__

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