Ratel (Honey Badger),
Mellivora Capensis
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Height: |
Male = |
9-11 in (23-28 cm) |
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Female = |
9-11 in (23-28 cm) |
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Weight:
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Male =
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17-32 lbs (8-15 kg)
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Female =
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17-32 lbs (8-15 kg)
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Cool Fact:
Though small, the
ratel is incredibly powerful, with vice like jaws, sharp claws, a
ferocious temper, and impermeable skin so loose-fitting that a ratel
gripped in a predator's jaws can twist around and bit back. Also
important to note, the Ratel goes for the scrotum when attacking larger
animals including man.
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Particularly fascinating is the Ratel's predation on bees and their honey. The Ratel uses its anal glands to fumigate beehives the way people use smoke. Applying its everted anal pouch to the hive entrance hole, the Ratel spreads secretion liberally while swirling its tail, sometimes in a handstand. The unusually copious secretion is suffocating and beekeepers report piles of dead bees and a pervasive sharp smell in hives raided by Ratels. | |
