The Honey badger or ratel is a tenacious small carnivore

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The Honey badger or ratel is a tenacious small carnivore that has a reputation for being, pound for pound, Africa's most fearless animal despite its small size. It is even listed as the "most fearless animal in the world" in the 2002 Guinness Book of Records. Tales of their fondness for honey and the foraging association  between the Greater Honeyguide and honey badgers have reached almost legendary proportions. Despite the wealth of fireside stories and  folklore that surround them and their extremely wide distribution, honey badgers are still relatively unknown and seldom seen.  Recently (1996-1999) a field study of honey badgers in South Africa  revealed more in depth information on their social life,  breeding  and feeding behaviour, and dispelled some of the myths. Work on honey badgers continues withcurrent projects including genetic research and  the "Badger-friendly"initiative. 

The honey badger, Mellivora capensis (Von Schreiber, 1776) belongs to the diverse Mustelid family, which includes eight other badger species, otters, weasels and the wolverine. The name badger was given to the honey badger because of its superficial resemblance to the Eurasian badger, but the two species are not closely related and the honey badger is the only representative of a separate subfamily in which it is the only species.

Many subspecies of honey badgers have been described, mostly determined by pelage variations, but the majority of these subspecies are disputed by zoologists. The honey badger's pelage, particularly the colour of the gray mantle and white stripe is highly variable and changes with age.   

Other badger species in the world include the Eurasian badger (Meles), American badger (Taxidea), Hog badger (Arctonyx), Indonesian stink badger / Teledu (Mydaus), Palawan / Calamian stink badger (Suillotaxus) and the Chinese ferret badger (Melogale).

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(Disputes)
Animalia (animals)
Chordata (animals with a notochord)
Vertebrates (mammals, fish, reptiles, birds)
Mammals
Carnivores
Mustelidae (otters, martins, weasels, polecats)
Mellivorinae (honey badger)
Mellivora
capensis
abyssinica
brockmani
buchanani
capensis
concisa
cottoni
inaurita
indica
leuconota
maxwelli
pumilio
sagulata
signata
vernayi
wilsoni

 

 

 

 

 

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