Do you know that the most fearless animal in the world is?
You might think it is a lion or panther or an animal that have poison as their defense mechanism, but nope, you are all wrong!
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the honey badger is the world’s most fearless animal. By the looks of its name, how tough can this animal be? But believe me it is one crazy…
In case you were wondering - the honey badger did not get its name because it is such a sweet animal but for having a sweet tooth. The honey badger will attack a beehive while being stung by all the inhabitants of the hive just to eat the larva.
The honey badger or ratel (Mellivora capensis) thrives in arid grasslands and savannahs and can be found throughout Africa and some parts of Asia like eastern Iran, southern Iraq, Pakistan and western India.
Honey badgers are small animals, similar in size and build to the European badgers, measuring between 60 and 100 cm (23 and 39 in) from head to body and weighing between 5 and 15 kg (11 to 33 lb). They might be small but they have the worst bite.
Its ferocious reputation stems from the fact that the honey badger does not hesitate to attack animals larger than itself. Scorpions, porcupines, snakes, young gazelles, lions and even small crocodiles - everything’s fair game. No surprise then that it is rarely preyed upon.
Honey badgers possess a keen sense of smell and are fierce carnivores that seem perpetually hungry. Known for their snake-killing abilities, scientists are still baffled as to how an animal weighing so little can survive snake bites that would kill a 90 kg (200 lb) human if left untreated. This was what interested me the most after watching a Youtube video about the honey badger
See for yourself how a honey badger’s day goes by…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0tycmec1fw
Posted by Whitney Huynh (5)
Hahaha!! I literally laughed out loud when I read that you were referring to the infamous Honey Badger. Not because I don't think it's true... you are absolutely correct in stating that it is perhaps the most fearless creature in the animal kingdom! It just reminded me of a popular Youtube video that went viral about a year ago. Although it's narration was intentionally meant to be comical, it was very informative and definitely sparked one's interest in this peculiar animal. I don't know if you know what I'm referring to, but it is definitely a must see! It's amazing how such a creature has gone to evolve such resistance to excess dosages of snake venom. Prior to learning about this animal, I would have bet my last dollar that a snake would win ten out of ten confrontations with a mammal of this size. Not anymore I won't! But it just goes to show you that one's size is not a reliable indicator of its capabilities, rather it can serve as a deceiving mechanism to trap its prey.
ReplyDeleteJust if you were curious, here's the link to that video I was referring to. Enjoy!! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg
(Disclaimer: It may or may not be inappropriate for this class, but I promise you will find it funny!!)
Response submitted by Jose Mijangos
I'm really glad you brought up the honey badger. I have also seen the video Jose posted and despite its goofiness it really showcases the animals inherent tenacity. I'm curious as to whether the honey badger ignores the warning signals of its prey - growling, teeth baring, coloration, etc. - or is just incapable of interpreting it. What developed first, its fearlessness or its ability to survive fearless?
ReplyDeleteBy Joseph Needleman
I really had no idea that badgers could be so fearless. After reading your article I became curious as to why the badger exhibits no signs of fear. Is the badger brain missing some sort of neuronal pathway needed to interpret fear? Also I'm shocked that this behavior benefits the honey badger. I'm guessing that the badger must live in an environment where it would win most fights that it gets into or how would this species survive?
ReplyDeletePosted by Nick Gast
I immediately thought of the video that Jose posted upon reading the title of this blog. I read somewhere the honey badger have extremely loose skin, which can be up to 6 millimeters thick. It is very hard to penetrate, and its looseness makes the honey badger able to twist around and fight back while in a hold, often tiring out a predator.
ReplyDeletePosted by Emily Nobrega
The honey badger may be the most fearless on earth, but I think that the wolverine is a close contender. They are slightly larger than the badger, usually 26-42 inches long and 20-55 lbs. They don't have the resistance to poison of the honey badger, but they come close on fearlessness and ferocity. They've been known to prey on moose, which can weight up to 1500 lbs. Anything that can take on an animal almost 30 times their size and come out on top has to be fearless.
ReplyDelete-Rhys Ursuliak
The honey badger is a badass, no doubt. However, the wolverine is known to chase wolf packs away from kills (the wolverine is much smaller than just one wolf). Resus monkeys make leaps of faith of up to 50 meters of of cliff faces into the forest canopy below. The mongoose preys on spitting cobras, and the mongoose is smaller than the cobra. There are a lot of daredevils out there.
ReplyDeleteDavid Matos-Magrass
Hahahahah Jose I agree when I first saw this I thought of the humorous honey badger youtube clip. I was stunned when I saw how fearless the honey badger was at killing other larger prey and even rattle snakes. I would normally think that the trait for being fearless would be selected against since it would most likely get the honey badger killed. Therefore, this makes me wonder if their habitat does not have large predators or their is a great scarcity of food that it need to become so fearless.
ReplyDeletePosted by Caroline Adams
@Jose: I know exactly what video you are talking about since that video was the reason why I posted this blog. I didn't know if I should have posted the video or not for explicit content reasons.
ReplyDelete@Rhys: I did not even know that wolverines exists outside of X-Men but of course Marvel had to get that name from somewhere.
@David: I totally forgot about all those animals you mentioned that are also daredevils. It just shows that little animals are a force to be reckoned with.
And for everyone else that mentioned about the honey badger's poison resistance and fearlessness:
I think everyone will believe that the honey badger developed these traits due to evolution because of the prey/predator arms race. As to which came first to the honey badger's fearlessness will remain a mystery until more tests are done with it.
Also the word bad is in the honey BADger's name...I do not think it is a coincidence.
Posted by Whitney Huynh
Honey Badgers are awesome! I am happy that I read this blog. Watch Animal Planet's episode on Honey Badgers, it is entertaining to say the least.
ReplyDeleteAs far as fearless goes, any animal will do what it needs to do to survive. We have all learned about an animal's fight or flight response. The honey badger is just doing what it needs to so in order to survive.
Posted by: Em Arsenault
This blog really surprised me. I never heard of the honey badger before reading this. It is very confusing how this small animal even has the ability to go against things such as a smaller crocodile. It seems to just go against everything we learned about adaptations of animals finding ways to dodge predator attacks. The honey badger seems to not care about predators at all and takes the attacks so lightly. I am very interested in how this animal evolved into what is has become.
ReplyDeletePosted by Ryan Dulmaine