The honey badger is part of the weasel family, related to skunks, otters, ferrets, and other badgers. Its proper name is ratel, but it gets the common name honey badger from what seems to be its favorite food: honey. Yet what the animal is actually looking to eat are the bee larvae found in the honey! Find out more!

As nocturnal creatures, honey badgers are extremely secretive and difficult to observe in the wild. They sleep most of the day, curling up into a ball to protect their face and belly.

What’s on the menu? Everything! The honey badger has an appetite for food ranging from small mammals and the young of large mammals to birds, reptiles, insects, carrion, and even a little vegetation, including juicy fruits.

Mostly solitary, honey badgers maintain loose home ranges that often overlap. They may meet up at favorite foraging areas, where they sniff each other and roll around to scent mark the ground. Honey badgers can grunt, squeak, hiss, and whine, and are known for their deep and ominous growl.

The female honey badger is left alone to give birth and raise her young. The expectant mother digs a nursery chamber and lines it with grass for her baby.