Sigiria Forest #22: Fearless and Fearsome!
The cache, a custom-made bottle-tops cache, is hidden behind bark pieces in the fork of a small 3-trunked tree about 1m off the left of the trail (if coming from Thigiri gate) and about 20m from J67. Although this is another predominantly creature of the night which you will therefore be unlikely to see, it is definitely a forest resident as it has also been caught on 'Karura Cam' - one of the IR (heat) sensitive cameras set up in various parts of the forest to monitor mammal movements and activities.
See GC4PD3V Karura Forest #1: Intro, info & entry for background info on the forest, opening times, entry fees, etc. and here for a detailed map of Karura & Sigiria Forests and/or download a Google Earth file of the trails here.
To reach the cache: after paying the forest entrance fee, from the Parking at the Karura Forest entrance (Gate A) to the east off Limuru road @ S 01 14.826 E 36 49.021 head back out of the gate and down to the main road. Cross this busy road (carefully!) and pick up the access track to the Sigiria Forest a short distance north. Follow this down a short distance and across the stream to the Sigiria Forest Gate @ S 01 14.804 E 36 48.901 close to the trailhead at Junction 54. From here the shortest route to the cache is to head left (SW) up the trail to Junction 69, right (north) to J53, then left (west) a short distance to the cache location.
An alternative route is J54 then right (north) -> J55 then left (south) -> J53 -> then right (west) to the cache.
Permission to place the cache was kindly granted by the Director of the Kenya Forest Service.
The honey badger or ratel (Mellivora capensis) occurs <4,000m in most of sub-Saharan Africa, southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent (see Range Map in Gallery). Despite its name, it does not closely resemble other badger species; instead, it is more similar to weasels. It has an extensive range and has a high level of general environmental adaptation. It is primarily a carnivorous species and has few natural predators because of its thick skin and ferocious defensive abilities.
The name ratel is an Afrikaans word, possibly derived from the Middle Dutch word raat for honeycomb (either because of its cry or its taste for honey). 12 subspecies are recognised and assigned mainly on size and the extent of whiteness or greyness on the back. The one found in Kenya is M.c.maxwelli (Kenyan ratel).
It has a fairly long body, but is distinctly thick-set and broad across the back. Its skin is remarkably loose, and allows it to turn and twist freely within it. The skin around the neck is 
6mm thick, an adaptation to fighting other ratels. Its head is small and flat, with a short muzzle. The eyes are small, and the ears are little more than ridges on the skin, possibly to avoid damage while fighting.
It has short and sturdy legs, with five toes on each foot. The feet are armed with very strong claws, which are short on the hind legs and remarkably long on the forelimbs. It is a partially plantigrade animal whose soles are thickly padded and naked up to the wrists. The tail is short and is covered in long hairs, except below the base.
Adults measure 23-28 cm at the shoulder and 55–77cm long with a 12–30cm tail with females smaller than males. Males weigh 9-16kg and females 5-10kg. Life expectancy in captive individuals is about 24 years.
It has an anal pouch which, unusual among mustelids, is eversible (can be turned inside out) - a trait shared with hyenas and mongooses. The smell of the pouch is reportedly 'suffocating' and may assist in calming bees when raiding beehives.
Although mostly solitary, they may hunt together in pairs during the May breeding season. After around 6 months gestation, usually 2 cubs are born blind in an underground burrow and stay with their mother for up to 2 years.
They live alone in self-dug holes but may take over disused aardvark and warthog holes or termite mounds. As skilled diggers, they can dig tunnels into hard ground in 10 minutes. The 1-3m burrows usually only have one passage and a nesting chamber.
They are intelligent animals and are one of few species able to use tools. One has been filmed rolling a log and standing on it to reach a kingfisher fledgling stuck up in the roots coming from the ceiling in an underground cave and a pair filmed using sticks, a rake, heaps of mud and stones to escape from their walled pit.
As with other mustelids of relatively large size, such as wolverines and badgers, honey badgers are notorious for their strength, ferocity and toughness. They can savagely and fearlessly attack almost any kind of animal when escape is impossible, reportedly even repelling much larger predators such as lions. Bee stings, porcupine quills, and animal bites rarely penetrate their skin. If horses, cattle, or Cape buffalos intrude upon a ratel's burrow, it will attack them. They are virtually tireless in combat and can wear out much larger animals in physical confrontations.
Social interaction between badgers is noisy. When together, feeding or during courtship, they have a full repertoire of whimpers, squeals, snarls, snorts and growls. Cubs vocalise through plaintive whines . . . to be continued (see GC6N55B Sigiria Forest #23: Ferocious and Feisty!)
See here for 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Honey Badger
See here for The Meanest Animal in the World?
See here for The Brave Honey Badger, Kgalagadi