The Honey Badger, Mellivora capensis [tr. “Honey Eater of the Cape”], is also known as the Ratel. Despite its name, the Honey Badger does not closely resemble other badger species, instead it bears more anatomical similarities to weasels.
Honey Badgers are jet black except for the grey mantle, separated by a white stripe, extending from the crown to the base of the tail. The colour of the mantle and stripe may vary from one individual to another and often becomes darker with age.
The hair is coarse and is longer on the hind legs and tail. The badgers’ striking colouration makes them easily recognizable and they could only be confused with the much smaller Striped Polecat (Ictonyx striatus) and Striped Weasel (Poecilogale albinucha) both of which weigh less than a kilogram.
Honey Badgers have a distinctive jog-trot and stand approximately 30cm high. Males may be twice the size of females. They are well adapted to their digging lifestyle and have a powerful and stocky build, with no external ears, a broad muscular back, bowlegged front legs and formidable fore claws that may reach 40mm in length.
It is primarily a carnivorous species, and has few natural predators because of its thick skin and ferocious defensive abilities.
It’s true that the honey badger has the Guinness Book of World Records title of "World's Most Fearless Creature," but they’re more than just audacious, they’re downright mean. They’re aggressive and eager to pick a fight, even with a porcupine. But that doesn’t mean they’re invincible. Hyenas, lions, leopards and pythons are all foes (as are humans), but if those are considered your only enemies, you’re probably incredibly tough.
Ferocious, fearless, and pugnacious animals aren’t always the smartest, but honey badgers break the mould. They’re so intelligent that they even use tools. In captivity, a team of Honey Badgers has been seen to use sticks, a rake, mud, stones, and pure determination in their attempts to escape.
Did you know? You might have heard that Honey Badgers and Honeyguide birds have a good partnership going. The Honeyguide supposedly leads the badger to the hive and then eats up after the honey badger destroys it. Well, after over 200 years of study, we can pretty definitively say that Honey Badgers simply don’t care. This behaviour has never been reliably seen in the wild, and even playing honeyguide songs elicits no response.
Harkerville Coastal Hiking Trail
This cache is placed along the route of the two day, 24 km hike, that starts and ends at Harkerville Forest Station. The trail passes through some prime examples of high-forest, crosses sections of coastal fynbos and takes the hiker along some breath-taking natural scenery along a cliff coast with low water pools and pebble beaches.
It is not necessary to do the two day hike to retrieve the cache. GZ can be accessed from the Kranshoek Entrance Gate. Take the Harkerville Hut trail. At the T-junction turn left towards Sinclaire Hut.
Cache: The container is a camouflaged honey bottle containing a log sheet [please replace it carefully in the zip lock bag], pencil and sharpener. Please hide the container carefully as found.
There is space for small items of SWAG/trackables.