Honey Badger Profile: Africa's Fearless Little Predator

Honey badgers are built like tanks: loose, tough skin, strong claws and a bold temperament. They are mostly solitary and active at night in many areas, but they can also be seen by day in quieter places.

This profile explains how to identify them, what they eat and where travellers might be lucky.

This guide is part of our animals of Uganda and East Africa guide. When you are ready to plan, see our Uganda safari packages or the Ameera Africa Safaris Uganda tours homepage.

Identification

A honey badger is stocky, with short legs and a long body, broad head and very small ears. The back is covered with a sharply defined pale grey or whitish mantle, contrasting with black underparts and legs. Fur is coarse. Strong forelimbs bear long claws for digging. The skin is loose, so if seized it can twist and bite back. Adults are about the size of a medium dog. The sharp two-tone pattern is distinctive.

Habitat

Honey badgers occupy a vast range of habitats, from desert to rainforest edge and mountain areas. They are most often reported in savanna and open woodland with enough burrows for shelter. They dig their own dens, take over holes dug by other animals, and move widely across large home ranges. Their ability to live on almost anything has allowed them to persist in many places where other carnivores have disappeared.

Diet and Hunting

The honey badger eats scorpions, beetles, termites, snakes, lizards, rodents, birds, eggs, fruit and carrion. It is famous for raiding beehives for larvae and honey, and a relationship with a bird called the greater honeyguide, which leads people and sometimes badgers to wild nests, is reported across Africa. Honey badgers are resistant to many venoms to a degree, though they are not immune, and they will tackle venomous snakes. They dig out prey from burrows with tireless energy.

Behaviour

Honey badgers are generally solitary, though females may travel with a single cub for a long period, and pairs come together briefly to mate. They use scent glands and an unpleasant defensive odour. If threatened, they are ferocious, charging with growls and rattling calls, and have been known to drive lions and leopards away from carcasses. Intelligence is another trait, with captive individuals recorded solving puzzles and escaping enclosures. They rest in burrows by day in areas with persecution.

Threats and Conservation

The species is widespread but suffers from poisoning, trapping and persecution by beekeepers and poultry owners, along with road deaths and habitat loss. Beehives raised on poles and fenced apiaries can reduce conflict. Population trends are poorly known because the animal is wary and wide-ranging. See responsible and conservation travel.

Where to See Honey Badgers

Honey badgers are reported in many East African savanna reserves, including Kenya's Masai Mara, Tsavo and Laikipia, Tanzania's Serengeti and Tarangire, and Uganda's Kidepo Valley, Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls. Sightings are usually brief, often at dusk or on night drives. See Uganda night drives.

Viewing Tips

Scan roadsides at first and last light, look for the pale back moving through grass and stay in the vehicle. Keep your voice low and never try to approach on foot. See the game drives guide.

Related Species

Compare it with the mongoose, the jackal and the spotted hyena, which share its habitats.

Planning a Uganda safari? Send us your dates and we will build the route, permits and transport around what you want to see.

Related Tours, Guides and Resources

• Ameera Africa Safaris homepage: Uganda safaris, tours and holidays
• Uganda safari packages
• Uganda travel guide
• How to book a Uganda safari
• Plan your safari with our team