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The sand cat is one of the world’s least studied small cats. Our camera-trap survey, one of the largest undertaken in a desert system, generated over 1500 images of the species across 100 camera-traps distributed systematically over the 2400 km2 core area of the Uruq Bani Ma’arid Protected Area of the Empty Quarter, Saudi Arabia. The study revealed a much more significant and widespread sand cat population in the ecosystem than previously understood. Sand cats were detected across one-third of the core area in all major habitats, comprising escarpment plateau, sand dunes and interdunal gravel valleys. The species showed a marginal preference for the interior parallel dune system with interspersed gravel valleys where they also preferred sand dunes over the gravel valley in the hot season. There was no evidence of strong spatial interactions with other predators. The ecosystem’s larger predators (Arabian red fox and honey badger, and all records of wild and feral cats) were primarily associated with the escarpment plateau. The smaller Rueppell’s fox was the only other carnivore more consistently present in the main dune system. Sand cats were strictly nocturnal and 14% more active in the hot season than the cool season.

Scavenging animals often scatter skeletal remains of forensic interest and cause scavenging damage. This study aimed to identify scavenging animals in the peri-urban agricultural Highveld of South Africa, describe their scattering patterns, and the damage they cause to bone. Ten pig carcasses (Sus scrofa domesticus) (40-80 kg) were placed at the University of Pretoria's Mierjie Le Roux Experimental Farm (Highveld) in summer and winter. Motion-activated cameras recorded the scavenging. Scavenger species were identified and their behaviors, scattering pattern, and the damage they cause to bone were described. Scavenging was primarily by black-backed jackals; however, mongooses (slender, yellow, and water mongoose), Cape porcupine, and honey badger were also active. Remains were commonly scattered in two directions by jackals. The distance of scattering was heavily influenced by fencing. The remains were scattered within a maximum radius of 73.7 m. The remains were scavenged and skeletonized faster in summer. Jackals caused minimal damage to bone, isolated to superficial, nonspecific scores, furrows, and punctures. A few mongoose bone alterations were present as jagged gnaw marks on the angle of the mandible and gnawing of the vertebral spinous process. Cape porcupine bone damage included gnaw marks on the condyle of a femur and head of humerus, and destruction of the proximal and distal ends of a tibia. The described scattering pattern and bone modification patterns will assist in the recovery and analysis of scavenged remains found in peri-urban agricultural areas in South Africa.

The Honey Badger or Ratel is a monotypic species of the badger family Mustelidae ranging across Africa and Asia at low densities. There have been no records of their presence and distribution across the Eastern Ghats of India. The present note reports the first camera trap record of the Honey Badger Mellivora capensis Schreber, 1776 from the reserved forests of the northern Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are used worldwide to control rodent populations. ARs bioaccumulate across trophic levels and threaten non-target wildlife. We investigated the prevalence of AR exposure in seven predator species in the rapidly developing Greater Cape Town region of South Africa – a mosaic of natural, urban, and agricultural areas within a global biodiversity hotspot. We focused sampling on caracals (Caracal caracal, n = 28) as part of a larger caracal ecology study, but also opportunistically sampled Cape Clawless otters (Aonyx capensis, n = 9), large-spotted genets (Genetta tigrina, n = 4), honey badger (Mellivora capensis, n = 1), water mongoose (Atilax paludinosus, n = 1), small gray mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta, n = 1), and Cape Eagle owl (Bubo capensis, n = 1). We tested livers from all species, and blood from ten caracals, for eight AR compounds to assess prevalence and amount of exposure for each compound. We used generalized linear models to test spatial, demographic, and seasonal risk factors for ten measures of AR exposure in caracals. We detected at least one of the four most toxic AR compounds in six species. Exposure was high for caracals (92%) and all species combined (81%). For caracals, proximity to vineyards was the most important AR exposure risk factor. Vineyards in Cape Town do not use ARs to protect their vines but do host commercial hospitality structures where ARs are used. Vineyards may thus link caracals that forage within vineyards to the rat poisons used in and around their commercial structures. Residue levels were unexpected in large-spotted genets and Cape Clawless otters, suggesting invertebrate vectors. ARs may present a cryptic threat to populations already vulnerable to increasing habitat loss, vehicle collisions, poachers and fire. Targeted mitigation should include a mix of environmentally responsible policies that reduce AR use, particularly in areas near wildlife habitat.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a fascinating object of study: it is one of the deadliest pathogens of humankind, able to fend off persistent attacks by the immune system or drugs[Image: see text]

Studies on carnivores are skewed toward larger species in India, limiting ecological information of the smaller ones. Basic ecological understanding like population density, distribution, habitat-use patterns of small carnivores is lacking. This inadequate knowledge has led to disagreement between conservation approaches in different landscapes. Honey badgers (Mellivora capensis) are cryptic carnivores distributed across large areas of Africa and Asia; however, fundamental ecological knowledge is scarce. The species is thought to exist at low population densities throughout its range. We used a large camera trap dataset from a tiger reserve in Maharashtra State, India to understand the population density, habitat preference, and diel activity pattern of the species. We applied an extension of the spatial count model for the estimation of population. Habitat preference analyses were carried out using generalized linear models and activity patterns were analyzed using kernel-density functions. The population density was estimated as 14.09 (95% CI 10–22.25) individuals per 100 km2. Habitat use revealed a positive association with forest cover and negative association with elevation. This may expose the species to other large carnivores in the habitat but honey badger activity pattern peaked at midnight retaining minimum temporal overlap with other large carnivores (e.g., tiger Panthera tigris, leopard Panthera pardus, and dhole Cuon alpinus) and moderate overlap with small carnivores (e.g., jungle cat Felis chaus, rusty-spotted cat Prionailurus rubiginosus). These behaviors, in turn, may facilitate the coexistence of species at such high density even with high carnivore density. We hope the findings of this study will fill the existing knowledge gap of this species and aid in guiding the conservation of the species in other landscapes and reserves.

In the United States and some other nations, the energy orthodoxy is being hijacked at the highest levels of political power by a look-alike ideology. This chapter uses the canary as the totem animal of the orthodoxy and the honey badger as the totem animal of this imposter ideology. The honey badger wears all the same trappings as the orthodoxy: celebrating the control of nature, innovation, and economic growth. Yet unlike the orthodoxy, it doesn’t dare to know the truth about its impacts. The honey badger is numb, whereas the orthodoxy (like the canary) is sensitive. The orthodoxy invests its faith in a process: the unfurling of human intelligence. The honey badger is faithful only to a product: fossil fuels. Nothing could be more reckless when it comes to climate change.

The honey badger is a widespread, but understudied African carnivore, with high potential as a bone accumulator in cave and fossil deposits. This study serves as the first investigation into the taphonomic modifications of this species when feeding on small to medium-sized prey. Domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cunniculus) carcasses where fed experimentally to a breeding pair of captive honey badgers housed at the Johannesburg Zoo. Bones from the feeding refuse and the carnivore scats were analysed for anatomical composition, fragmentation patterns, tooth marks and digestion. The results were compared with feeding studies with various small carnivores on leporid prey. Honey badgers preferentially opened their prey at the belly and focussed their feeding on nutritionally high-yield soft parts, often discarding low-yield parts like distal appendages, crania and the skins. Bones from the refuse assemblage were often complete and unmodified but stripped of flesh. Bones from the scat assemblage displayed very high fragmentation, light digestive modification and high numbers of tooth marked bones. This latter character was particularly diagnostic for the honey badger. This study investigates a carnivore that has received little interest and shows the high potential of this carnivore to act as a bone accumulator. Further taphonomic research into this species will greatly enhance our understanding of this species and its activity in the fossil record.

Land-use, the extent of cover, and intra-guild competition with larger predators all influence habitat use by mesocarnivores. Understanding this is especially important for little-known mesocarnivore species. We investigated the occurrence of the relatively understudied honey badger (Mellivora capensis) in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (St. Lucia, South Africa), a Protected Area that covers approximately 700 km2 with forestry plantations (agroforestry) on its Western Shores and restored natural vegetation on its Eastern Shores and Western Shores. We used single-season camera-trap data from a grid of 118 trap stations surveying continuously for 24 days, and estimated the probability of occupancy and detection of honey badgers, and modelled the influence of surrounding land-use, habitat characteristics and presence of other predators on each estimate. Mean estimated probability of occupancy of honey badgers was 0.38 ± 0.08 and probability of detection was 0.12 ± 0.03, with a naive occupancy estimate of 0.25. Distance to water and higher number of trees in adjacent plantations influenced honey badger occupancy positively. Presence of leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) had a negative effect on detection probability of honey badger while presence of spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) positively influenced honey badger detection, indicating that the presence of individual predator species influenced honey badger habitat use in varying ways. We found a higher occurrence of honey badgers in Eucalyptus plantations than in natural habitat types. This suggests that human-modified landscapes may not always be detrimental to adaptable, or more habitat-generalised species that are able to exploit new habitat opportunities.

Honey badgers are cryptic carnivores that occur at low densities and range across large areas. The processes behind site-level honey badger abundance and detection rates are poorly understood, and there are conflicting results about their avoidance of larger carnivores from different regions. We used data from 224 camera traps set up in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania to evaluate patterns in detection rates, spatial distribution, and activity patterns of honey badgers. Our top models showed that the relative abundance of larger carnivores (e.g., African lions, Panthera leo, and spotted hyenas, Crocuta crocuta) was important, but surprisingly was positively related to honey badger distribution. These results suggest that honey badgers were not avoiding larger carnivores, but were instead potentially seeking out similar habitats and niches. We also found no temporal avoidance of larger carnivores. Honey badgers exhibited seasonal variation in activity patterns, being active at all times during the wet season with peaks during crepuscular hours, but having a strong nocturnal peak during the dry season. Our detection rates of honey badgers at individual camera traps were low (3402 trap nights/detection), but our study shows that with adequate effort camera traps can be used successfully as a research tool for this elusive mustelid.

Studies on the species composition, relative abundance and distribution of medium and large mammals were carried out from August 2015 to July 2016 in Mengaza communal forest. Data were collected using line transect technique. A total of twelve species of medium and large mammals were identified and recorded in the study area. Rock hyrax (Procavia capensis), porcupine (Hystrix cristata), honey badger (Mellivera capensis), vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops), Abyssinian hare (Lepus habessinicus), black backed jackal (Canis mesomelas), klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus), olive baboon (Papio anubis), were among the medium mammals but Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), aardvark (Oryctropus afer), bohor reed buck (Redunca redunca) and common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) were among the large mammals identified in the study area. Olive baboon (32.7%) was the most abundant species during dry and wet seasons. Mammalian species composition between the two habitats (natural forest and plantation) was not significant (χ2 = 0.47, df =1, P > 0.05). However, there was seasonal variation in the abundance of individuals of medium and large mammals (χ2 = 3.89, df = 1, P < 0.05). The area is facing severe degradation due to human population pressure. Therefore, there should be proper conservation of the forest to sustain the wildlife species living there. Key words: Abundance, distribution, medium and large mammals, Mengaza Communal Forest, plantation species composition.

Among all constraints of beekeeping, natural bee enemies are known to cause great damage to the life and product of honeybees by causing disappearance and migration. A study was conducted in Bale from July, 2010 to June, 2012 in six districts with the objective of assessing the effect of natural bee enemies on the life of honeybees and their products. From each districts, 3 rural kebeles (RKs) and 10 beekeepers from each RKs were purposively selected and a total of 180 beekeeper participated. The selected beekeepers were interviewed using pre-tested structured questioners and single-visit-multiple formal survey method to collect the data. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 software and descriptive analysis method. Majority (96.86%) of the respondents in the study area followed traditional production system but only few beekeepers started transitional (0.88) and modern (2.26) beekeeping production system. In the study area, honeybees’ enemies, agro-chemicals, lack of knowledge to manage bees and bee products, lack of bee colonies and bees poisoning from plants were identified as major beekeeping constraints. Respondents were asked to identify major honeybee pests and predators. Based on the result of this study, the existence of pests and predators were a major challenge to the honeybees and beekeepers in the study area. In all surveyed areas, the beekeepers reported the presence of Honey badger, spider, bee-eating birds, bee lice, beetles, wasps, Death Head hawks moth Mice and lizards in order of their decreasing importance. Traditionally, the beekeepers used their own control mechanisms of protecting these pests and predators like application of ash under the stand of the hive, hanging hives by rope on long trees, cleaning around the apiary site, using dog for large predators like honey badger, fencing their apiary site and mechanical like killing of the predators and pests, etc. About 72.6% of the respondents reported that honey production trend in the area decreased and 25.1 and 2.2% reported increasing and unchanged trend of production system, respectively. Despite the challenges of beekeeping, it is realized that there is potential of beekeeping in Bale, though the production system is traditional and there is an opportunity of improving the situation since there is plenty of beekeeping resources. Key words: Enemies, honeybee, pests and predators, Bale zone.

The assessment of habitat selection and temporal patterns of activity rhythms is paramount for wildlife conservation. Studies on behavioural ecology of wild mammals are particularly challenging in tropical areas, mostly when involving rare or elusive species. Despite being a common species in Italy, the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata is threatened of extinction throughout most of its sub-Saharan range. All available information on the ecology of this species has been collected in Italy, whereas no data is present in the scientific literature on spatiotemporal behaviour of this large rodent in Africa. In this work, we attempted to determine habitat selection and temporal patterns of activity rhythms of the crested porcupine in northern Benin and neighbouring countries, through intensive camera-trapping. We collected a total of 146 records of crested porcupine, 91 in the dry season (October-March) and 55 in the rainy season (April-September). Porcupines used most habitats in proportion to their local availability, while selecting rock outcrop formations (possibly used as shelter sites) and avoiding open areas, wetlands and gallery forests. A mostly nocturnal behaviour was confirmed throughout the year, with some diurnal activity at the start and at the end of the rainy season. The importance of rains in determining birth peak has been also showed, with juvenile individuals always observed at the start and at the end of the rainy season. Full moon always inhibited activity of this large rodent, most likely evolved as an antipredatory behaviour to limit encounters with potential predators (common leopard Panthera pardus, spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta and honey badger Mellivora capensis) and humans. Poaching pressure towards porcupines in West Africa is strong. Porcupines are killed for the traditional medicine, for their meat and because they are widely considered as a crop pest. This assessment should therefore be used as a basic tool to design conservation plans to preserve this rodent species in its native range.

A porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis) den was placed under observation by camera trap, and subsequently a honey badger (Mellivora capensis) was recorded raiding the den to prey on the young porcupines inside.

Honey represents a highly nutritious resource for animals, but is difficult to obtain given bees' defensive strategies. We investigated exploitation of the underground nests of stingless bees (Meliplebeia lendliana) by three sympatric consumers in Loango National Park, Gabon: the central African chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes), forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) and honey badger (Mellivora capensis). Given the differences in their respective morphological traits and sensory abilities, we hypothesized that chimpanzees would be more limited in digging out the bee nests, compared to the other two competitors, and would show behavioral strategies to overcome such constraints. Our dataset comprised camera trap footage recorded over 60 mo at 100 different bee nests. Chimpanzees visited the nests more often than the other consumers, showing a frequency of extraction success comparable to that observed in honey badgers, the most efficient digger. Both chimpanzees and honey badgers increased their extractive attempts across the dry season, whereas elephants did not. The soil hardness was greater during the dry season than the wet season and, possibly in order to compensate for this, chimpanzees showed a tendency toward digging at nests found in relatively softer soil. They also seemed to be inhibited by indirect cues left by other consumers, possibly as a risk-avoidance strategy. Overall, chimpanzees and honey badgers extracted the underground nests of stingless bees with similar frequencies, whilst forest elephants did so only occasionally. Moreover, chimpanzees can use tools and other behavioral strategies to overcome the physical limitations that may constrain their exploitation of this resource.

The “Honey Badger” became a pop culture sensation in 2011 when a man named Christopher Gordon, using the pseudonym Randall, added his voiceover commentary to National Geographic footage of a badger foraging for live animals in its natural habitat. The roughly three-minute YouTube video now has over 90 million views and over 40,000 comments. Gordon’s mock-umentary popularized the catchphrase “honey badger don’t care,” making it a “cultural icon” and “viral sensation.” Between 2013 and 2016, Gordon acquired five different federal trademark registrations for the phrase in connection with a variety of goods, including clothing, toys, mugs, mobile phone applications, and bumper stickers. His licensees sell over 9,000 Honey Badger-themed items, including greeting cards, at major retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, and Urban Outfitters. Even celebrities like Taylor Swift and Anderson Cooper have quoted his video narration, which he registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. He has appeared on television news programs, and his book, Honey Badger Don’t Care: Randall’s Guide to Crazy, Nastyass Animals, is available from Amazon and other booksellers. The trademark controversy arose in 2015 when Gordon sued on behalf of a non-licensed greeting card use. Gordon has a federally registered “honey badger don’t care” trademark associated with International Class 16, which includes stationary. Back in 2012, American Greetings, the parent company of the defendants, was in talks with Gordon to license his trademark for greeting cards, but they did not reach an agreement. Nonetheless, the defendants started selling one greeting card with “Honey Badger and me just don’t care,” as well as six cards with a related Honey Badger catchphrase, “honey badger don’t give a s---.” This related catchphrase is also well-known and was featured in Gordon’s original video, but he does not have a federally registered trademark for it. Gordon filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The defendants claimed that their use was fully protected under the First Amendment, and the district court granted summary judgment for the defendants. The Court held that Rogers v. Grimaldi—the seminal case protecting expressive uses of trademarks in art—barred the infringement claim as a matter of law. In July 2018, the Ninth Circuit reversed summary judgment, holding there were triable issues as to whether the defendants’ greeting cards passed the Rogers test. This was the first time the Ninth Circuit had ever rejected summary judgment in a case applying Rogers. The decision evoked considerable criticism: the defendants submitted a petition for rehearing, and thirty-seven well-respected trademark professors wrote a collective amicus brief supporting rehearing and criticizing the Ninth Circuit’s rationale. The Court accepted rehearing and in November 2018 released an updated opinion retaining the same conclusion but with a modified rationale. This “must-see trademark litigation” raises important concerns about how to achieve a balance between free speech and brand exploitation. Part I overviews the evolution of the Rogers test. Part II summarizes the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in the Honey Badger case, Gordon v. Drape Creative, Inc. Part III evaluates scholarly reactions to the ruling as well as the decision’s broader implications for trademark law and free speech. This Article concludes that while the public’s right to free expression is important, the free-speech rights of trademark owners are equally important to protect. Allowing infringement cases to proceed to trial does not necessarily compromise free speech, and while dismissal via summary judgment may be appropriate in some instances, this was a borderline case complicated enough to merit a jury trial.

The honey badger (Mellivora capensis) is a medium-sized carnivore distributed throughout Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Turkmenistan, and India. However, available information on its ecology is very scarce. We studied its feeding ecology in the remote north-western Sahara Desert, based on the contents of 125 fecal samples collected during large scale surveys. Samples were confirmed to belong to honey badgers by camera trapping and genetic analyses. Barely 18 prey species were detected. The diet primarily consisted of spiny-tailed lizards Uromastyx nigriventris and U. dispar (72% of volume in scats). Secondary prey items were arthropods (14%), small mammals (8%), other reptiles (4%), and eggs (0.8%). Some small geographic and temporal differences were related to the consumption of beetle larvae and rodents as alternative prey. Camera trapping and distance sampling surveys showed that diel activities did not overlap between honey badgers and spiny-tailed lizards, suggesting that badgers primarily dig lizards out of their burrows when inactive. Consumption of spiny lizards by other sympatric meso-carnivores was &lt, 6.1% of occurrence (223 analyzed scats), the honey badger behaved as a trophic specialist in the Sahara, probably thanks to exclusive anatomical adaptations for digging. We discuss the role of this circumstance minimizing the exploitative competition, which could allow the survival of this large mustelid in this low productive and highly competitive environment.

Ten honey badgers (Mellivora capensis wilsoni) and 10 West-Asian blunt-nosed vipers (Macrovipera lebetina obtusa) were collected from the Almadeena district North Basrah governorate, southern Iraq, and examined for helminths. Cystacanths and 2 adult specimens of an acanthocephalan Oligacanthorhynchus sp. were found, and these represent new host records and a new record for Iraq. The specimens could be distinguished from all other species of Oligacanthorhynchus in having a proboscis armature of 36 hooks arranged in 12 rows of 3 hooks without large manubria, the largest hooks (circle 1) up to 120 µ m long. There was, however, insufficient material to adequately describe the putative new species. Honey badgers are opportunistic carnivores that include snakes in their diet, supporting the contention that the vipers are paratenic hosts and honey badgers are the definitive hosts for this oligacanthorhynchid.

New distributional data on 14 species of mammals in Egypt are presented. The North African Hedgehog Atelerix algirus, the Badger Meles meles and the Honey Badger Mellivora capensisare herein recorded for the first time from Egypt. Moreover, specimens representing a number of species previously reported from Egypt based on casual sightings or verbal reports were also collected and examined for the first time in Egypt. The patchy distribution of mammals and their habitats in Egypt and northeastern Sahara is described and discussed from a historical biogeographic perspective, with barriers and corridors controlling faunal dispersal and genetic exchange. We also present data on a number of species that have undergone major population decline in the past few years as a result of hunting, commercial over-exploitation and habitat destruction, and are locally or globally threatened with extinction.

In analyzing motor behaviour, we use a method of gestalt perception that relies less on intuition and more on rational processes. The elementary building blocks of behaviour in this study are single movements — distinct changes of relation between two adjacent parts of the body. The single movements are performed in groups around specific axes: whole body rotations around the vertical absolute axis, whole body rotations around the longitudinal axis of the body, and whole body rotations around the side-to-side axis of the body. In their full blown form these rotations amount, respectively, to pivoting, rolling and tumbling. During “ritualized fighting”, these rotations are incorporated into the behaviour of the badger in a fixed sequence, yielding a fugue of rotations. “Ritualized fighting” is comprised in the badgers of five higher level (whole body) building blocks: the three whole body rotations, squatting, and forward walking. These building blocks are termed in the present study component-variables. At a still higher level of analysis we reveal the effect of the environment (the moving partner), on the performance of these component-variables. We record continuously the parts of the bodies of the two partners that touch or almost touch each other. In this way, we specify the tactile and visual input which impinges on each of the partners at any one time in the course of the interaction. Then, we examine the effect of the very same input, on the types of response performed by the badgers. This method allows us to assess the freedom of movement, i.e. the number of different responses available to each of the partners when confronted with the same stimulus situation. The five component-variables generate four composite profiles of actual behaviour (the “inferior” female, the “inferior” male, the “superior” female, and the “superior” male). They form a common denominator in all the profiles, but vary systematically in amount, amplitude, and frequency from one profile to the next, yielding a gradient. Part of the gradient was also described in “ritualized fighting” in wolves, and in other species and situations. In wolves and badgers it involves a gradual transition from relative immobility in the most inferior, to extensive mobility in the most superior partner. We show, that the same stimulus situations elicit in the inferior the most fixed response sequences, and in the superior, the most variable ones. Inferiority consists of relative immobility and stimulus bound behaviour; superiority consists of extensive mobility and relatively free behaviour. The difference between fixed response sequences and “voluntary” behaviour is of degree, not of principle.

Facial injuries have the potential to cause disfigurement and loss of function. Although it is seldom life-threatening, facial trauma can also be deadly, because it can cause severe bleeding, interference with the airway or wound infections. We present a rare case of 3 years old boy that underwent a multistage repair of facial soft tissue injuries he got from a Honey Badger bite. A good wound management that consists of thorough irrigation and careful debridement are important to diminish the risks of infection after primary closure, which should be considered for animal bite injuries to the face, and for this case honey badger. Reconstruction can be very challenging but if carefully done may help make patients cosmetically acceptable and have satisfactory physiological outcomes.

Radio-tracking locations of 25 individuals (13 females; 12 males) and visual observations of nine habituated individuals were used to investigate the spatial organization and movement patterns of the honey badger Mellivora capensis in the southern Kalahari. The home ranges of adult male honey badgers (541 ± 93 km2) were significantly larger than the home ranges of adult females (126 ± 13 km2). Female home-range size was five times larger than predicted from body mass. The extensive home ranges of females were likely to be a function of relatively low prey availability in the semi-arid Kalahari and the long period of cub dependence (12–16 months). While mean home-range overlap in females was moderate (13%) and home-range centres were regularly spaced, females did not appear to actively defend a territory and no direct interactions between females were observed. Scent marking appears to mediate spatio-temporal separation and females show a loosely territorial spacing pattern. In contrast, males did not support the typical mustelid pattern of intra-sexual territoriality but instead encompassed the overlapping home ranges of up to 13 females. Males and females differed significantly in their rate of travel (3.8 ± 0.3 km/h vs 2.7 ± 0.2km/h), straight line (6.2 ± 0.5 km vs 2.4 ± 0.2 km) and actual distance (13.8 ± 0.9 km vs 7.7 ± 0.7 km) moved during an active period but do not differ in the percentage of their home-range area traversed in a single day (3%). Young males tended to have smaller home ranges (151 ± 45 km2) than adult males and showed a spacing pattern more similar to adult females than adult males. In common with other solitary mustelids, the spatial organization suggests a polygynous or promiscuous mating system.

The honey badger, or ratel, Mellivora capensis has not been well studied and data on life-history variables have previously been incomplete and contradictory. Here we present data on life-history variables that were collected from visual observations as part of the first intensive study of free-living honey badgers (25 radio-marked individuals) and we make comparisons with other similarly sized mustelids (5–25 kg). The honey badger is a non-social species and only the mother rears the young. The data do not support delayed implantation as gestation was a maximum of 50–70 days with the unusually small litter size of one cub. The long time to independence of both male and female cubs (12–16 months) resulted in birth intervals longer than 12 months with no distinct breeding season. Overall the honey badger appears to have a more K-selected life history compared to other species within the Mustelidae.

The dominance hierarchy system of male honey badgers, Mellivora capensis , does not appear to determine reproductive success in the species as subordinate males are frequently seen to gain brief access to receptive females. To establish whether these interactions lead to fertilization, five microsatellite loci were used to infer paternity in a honey badger population from the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park. In total, 26 individuals comprising 10 cubs, eight known mothers and eight potential fathers were analysed. Exclusion analysis and a likelihood-based approach identified the dominant male in the study population as the most likely father of 50% of the cubs (luggl/ug 80% likelihood confidence). The remaining five cubs were most likely fathered by four different subordinate males (luggl/ug 80% likelihood confidence). The results suggest that the brief mating opportunities afforded to subordinate males lead to fertilization, and hence that the dominance hierarchy system of the honey badger is not strong enough to exclude sneak fertilizations.

We investigated sexual and seasonal patterns in scent-marking behaviour of the honey badger, by direct observations of habituated individuals (five females, four adult males, two young males). Four categories of scent-marking behaviour were identified: (1) scent marking at latrines; (2) token urination in holes along the foraging path; (3) squat marking at single-use sites; and (4) functional excretion. Females and young males used all four types of scent marking, but adult males were not observed to use token urination. A strategy of hinterland scent marking was used, as was predicted from the large home ranges of both male and female honey badgers. There were significant sexual differences in marking rate: adult males primarily used latrines and adult females favoured token urination. Latrine scent marking in adult male honey badgers provides support for the ‘scent-matching’ hypothesis. Females visited latrines when they were in oestrus. However, the low level of marking activity during a visit and the intensive smelling suggested a scent-matching function rather than reproductive advertisement. Token urination appeared to be related to the maintenance of spatiotemporal separation in females, although we also observed token urination in young males. While the placement of urine in foraging holes and its relation with successful digging attempts offer some support for the foraging efficiency hypothesis, we consider this unlikely, because we did not observe it in adult males and there was no seasonal pattern. Squat marking occurred under a wide range of conditions in both males and females and may be related to marking valuable resources. It is likely that scent marking in honey badgers has many functions.  2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

The honey badger, or ratel, Mellivora capensis has not been well studied despite its extensive distribution. As part of the first detailed study, visual observations of nine habituated free-living individuals (five females, four males) were used to investigate seasonal, annual and sexual differences in diet and foraging behaviour. Theory predicts that generalist predators ‘switch’ between alternative prey species depending on which prey species are currently most abundant, and diet breadth expands in response to decreased availability of preferred food types. There were significant seasonal differences in the consumption of eight prey categories related to changes in prey availability but no seasonal differences in food intake per kg of body mass. As predicted, the cold-dry season diet was characterized by low species richness and low foraging yield but high dietary diversity, while the reverse was true in the hot-dry and hot-wet seasons. In accordance with these predictions, results suggest that the honey badger maintains its intake level by food switching and by varying dietary breadth. Despite marked sexual size dimorphism, male and female honey badgers showed no intersexual differences in prey size, digging success, daily food intake per unit body weight or foraging behaviour. Results do not support the hypothesis that size dimorphism is primarily an adaptation to reduce intersexual competition for food.

The diversity, distribution and relative abundance of medium and large-sized mammals were studied in the newly established Baroye Controlled Hunting Area, Southwestern Ethiopia. The study covers two seasons extending between January and September, 2014. Three habitats types, grassland, woodland, and riverine forest were identified in the study area. A line transect survey method was implemented to record the mammalian diversity. Of the 38 arbitrarily established transects, 11 (5 from the grassland and 3 each from the woodland and riverine habitats) were randomly selected and permanently surveyed for two seasons. Each transect was surveyed twice a month for three months per season. A total of 23 species of mammals from 7 orders and 13 families were recorded from the area. Only five species including the rock hyrax ( Procavia capensis ) and Bush hare ( Lepus fagani ) were from medium sized mammals. Among the 18 large sized mammals, the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) was the most abundant. The leopard ( Panthera pardus ), lion ( P. leo ), African civet ( Civettictis civetta ), honey badger ( Mellivora capensis ) and black backed jackal ( Canis mesamolas ) were represented by few individuals. Riverine forest harbored the highest mammalian species (H’=2.37) followed by the woodland (H’=2.23) during the dry season. During the wet season, diversity was highest in the woodland (H’=2.25). The similarity of mammalian species between the riverine forest and woodland were very high during both seasons (SI=0.66), and least between riverine forest and grassland (SI=0.38). Owing to the high faunal diversities, upgrading the current controlled hunting area into higher protected area category will have immense significance to better conserve the unique ecosystem and faunal resource of the area.

A new subspecies of the honey badger (Melivora capensis buechneri ssp. n.) is described from the western part of Central Asia (Turkmenistan).

Infections with viruses of the feline parvovirus subgroup such as feline panleukopenia virus (FPV), mink enteritis virus (MEV) and canine parvovirus (CPV-2) [together with its new antigenic types (CPV-2a, CPV-2b)] have been reported from several wild carnivore species. To examine the susceptibility of different species to the various parvoviruses and their antigenic types, samples from wild carnivores with acute parvovirus infections were collected. Viral DNA was amplified, and subsequently analysed, from faeces or formalin-fixed small intestines from an orphaned bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis), a free-ranging honey badger (Mellivora capensis), six captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), a captive Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) and a free-ranging African wild cat (Felis lybica). Parvovirus infection in bat-eared fox and honey badger was demonstrated for the first time. FPV-sequences were detected in tissues of the African wild cat and in faeces of one cheetah and the honey badger, whereas CPV-2b sequences were found in five cheetahs and the bat-eared fox. The Siberian tiger (from a German zoo) was infected with a CPV-type 2a virus. This distribution of feline parvovirus antigenic types in captive large cats suggests an interspecies transmission from domestic dogs. CPV-2 sequences were not detected in any of the specimens and no sequences with features intermediate between FPV and CPV were found in any of the animals examined.

‘the honey badger. Watch it run in slow motion. It’s pretty badass. Look, it runs all over the place. “Woah, watch out! ”, says that bird. Ew it’s got a snake? Oh, it’s chasing a jackal? Oh my gosh!’ If you read this and the voice in your head sounded like a high-pitched, effeminate male, then you’ve undoubtedly seen the YouTube video ‘The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger (original narration by Randall)’. It was uploaded on 18 January 2011 by user ‘czgl23’ and has been viewed over 56 million times.1 The video features original footage of the tough and ornery Honey badgers taken from a National Geographic special that aired in 2007.

The honey badger, or ratel Mellivora capensis has not been well studied and very little information is available on its population and habitat use. We used occupancy based technique and binary logistic regression to assess the abundance and habitat suitability for ratel in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, Western India between November 2007 to June 2009. In total, 100 trapping stations were sampled for 25 days resulting into total effort of 2500 trapping nights. The 100 trapping stations covered an area of 95.99 km2 (MCP). Presence/ absence data was gathered through camera trap photographs in two seasons, winter and summer. The density of ratel was found to be 5.48 ± 4.33 animals/ 100 km2 in summer and 6.43 ± 2.79 animals/ 100 km2 in winter. Two sample t test revealed no significant difference in the abundance of ratel between seasons (t=1.493, df=8, P=0.173). Binary logistic regression analysis revealed overall prediction accuracy for depicting the ratel presence in the intensive study area was 64.8%. Elevation, closeness to water and Zizyphus mixed forest was found to contribute positively for the prediction of suitable habitat for ratel in the intensive study area. Comparatively, very less area was found as medium and high suitable areas for this species.

Ethiopia has a huge natural resource base for honey production. An assessment was conducted to investigate beekeeping constraints and indigenous bee pest protection methods in Asgede Tsimbla district, northern Ethiopia. Five sub districts were selected on the bases of adoption of modern beehives with the assistance of development agents working in the district. A total of 500 beekeepers were randomly selected for structured interview. Data was supplemented with personal observations, focus group discussion and key informant interviews with beekeepers, extension workers and bee experts of the district. Absconding was the second major beekeeping constraints: a total of 429 traditional and 297 modern beehives were without honeybee colonies representing an annual maximum loss of about US$ 28,875 and 54,831, respectively. Bee pests and predators including ants (both black and red), birds, spiders, mites, wax moth, beetle, bee mice, honey badger, cat worm and lizards were identified. Indigenous protection methods were practiced to control these pests and predators, such as the application of ash, rope around entrance of hives (hanging the predator’s neck), insect repellents (such as dirty engine oil), use of malathine, mechanical killing of the pests, sanitation etc. Majority (58.4%) of the beekeepers were growing different indigenous bee forage, such as Parkinsonia aculeate, Croton macrostachyus, Acacia polyacantha, Cordia africana, Opuntia ficus indica, Musa acuminata, Syzgium guineense, Agave sissanlana, Albizia malacophylla, Ziziphus spinachristi, Carica Papaya, Citrus sinensis, Carthamus tinctorius and Citrus aurantifolia. Despite all the constraints, there is a great potential to increase the production and quality of honey in the district. Establishing beekeepers cooperative and enhancing bee forage plantation through introducing Multi-Purpose Trees (MPT) should be encouraged. Key words: Bee forage, absconding, bee pests, honey, Asgede Tsimbla.

Cladistic analysis of extant mustelids based on a data matrix consisting of 30 characters derived from morphological study of the head skeleton in all 23 genera, and 16 characters gleaned from the literature, yielded 75 most parsimonious trees with a consistency index of 0.487 using PAUP 3.0s. The analysis strongly supports the monophyly of both the Mephitinae (skunks) and Lutrinae (otters). The Mustelinae (weasels, martens, wolverine, etc) is probably paraphyletic, but there is some support for a monophyletic group consisting of the mustelines and the honey badger Mellivora . The Melinae (badgers) is a polyphyletic group; the badger ecomorph probably evolved independently at least three times within the Mustelidae. On consensus trees, there is a lack of resolution concerning the relationships within the Mephitinae and Lutrinae and the positions of Galictis and Mustela . These results are broadly congruent with a cladistic interpretation of Simpson's intent in his influential 1945 classification. Thus, a paraphyletic Mustelinae is consistent with Simpson's conception of a horizontal grouping, whereas the Mephitinae and Lutrinae represent vertical divergent lineages. In contrast, the cladistic status of the Melinae is not consistent with Simpsonian classificatory principles. The status of the monotypic Mellivorinae cannot be evaluated without considering its putative fossil members; however, the clustering of Mellivora with the badger Taxidea is not consistent with Simpson's scheme. Some of the more inclusive clades in the most parsimonious trees are vulnerable to minor changes to the data matrix. The fossil record is consistent with the basic outlines of the cladistic pattern and explains various ostensible biogeographic anomalies. Bootstrap analysis identified marked variation in the support for the components of the cladistic pattern.

The collection of 63 shells of the tent tortoise Psammobates tentorius in the Bushmanland Nama Karoo revealed that 49% of them had been cleanly broken open and the body of the tortoise removed. The...

The late Middle Miocene Ngorora Formation has yielded several interesting carnivore fossils. Among these are a huge creodont, Megistotherium osteothlastes, at 12 Ma, possibly the youngest record of the species, an amphicyonid, two species of mustelids (an otter and a honey badger), two kinds of viverrids (one about the size of a civet, one the size of a genet) and an extremely small herpestid the size of a dwarf mongoose. It has also yielded remains of a moderate sized percrocutid. Perhaps the most interesting carnivore is a new genus and species of bundont viverrid that is intermediate in size and morphology between Early Miocene Orangictis on the one hand and Plio-Pleistocene Pseudocivetta on the other. This lineage of bundont viverrids appears to have been restricted to Africa.

Contents of faeces indicated that honey badgers in the Kalahari eat mostly rodents, followed by lizards and scorpions, all of which are caught by digging. Larger mammals (aardwolf, bat-eared fox, springhare) and large snakes are also eaten. Foraging behaviour is described and individual differences in foraging strategies are discussed.