What is the true identity of the world's most powerful terrestrial creature, "Flathead Brother"?
Do you know a small animal called a honey badger?
It looks like a ferret, is about the size of a domestic cat, and has a black-and-white color scheme like a skunk.
Many people think they are "cute" from the outside, "I want to keep them as pets".
But will this feeling continue after reading this article?
In fact, they are creatures with powerful weapons and personalities, so much so that they are called "the strongest of the terrestrial creatures".
This time, we will approach the ecology of honey badgers.
Taxonomy and ecology of honey badgers
Classification, size, habitat
Honey badgers belong to the family Ferret, with a body length of about 70 cm, a tail length of about 25 cm, and a weight of about 10 kg. In other words, it was only the size of a puppy.
The habitat is burrows dug by other animals or badgers themselves, such as drylands, forests, and swamps.
Honey badgers are different creatures from badgers, but they live in caves like badgers and have similar morphologies.
By the way, in the biological world, even organisms that belong to different strains in DNA have similar morphologies and habitats, and they have the same habits.
About eating habits
Although it is very small, its diet is omnivorous. They may even attack fruits, the flesh of other animals, and rarely even the smaller honey badgers of their kind.
In addition, whether individual, paired, or small groups, they always roam wide areas agilely and attack when they see random prey.
They act so busy and restless.
Although they are considered nocturnal animals, they are usually active during the day.
Although honey badgers are omnivorous, their favorite food is honey, which is where the Japanese name of honey badger comes from. Honey badgers are aggressive and active, but the name is cute.
Why are honey badgers the most fearless animals?
Honey badgers move around and attack random prey, but the Guinness Book of World Records admits it to being "the most fearless animal in the world."
This is not reckless, and there is good reason to be fearless.
The Honey Badger possesses 7 main weapons and is naturally full of confidence.
(1) Thick and durable fur
(2) Elastic and elastic skin and body
(3) Anti-snake venom, even if it preys on venomous snakes, it will only stop moving for a few hours.
(4) The odor gland near the anus will spew out a foul odor.
(5) Rough roar
(6) Claw attack with well-developed limbs
(7) Fierce, aggressive, cunning, tough character
Sometimes you can use the above weapons to achieve giant killing.
I will explain what the skin does as the main weapon of the honey badger.
Toughness, elasticity and flexibility of the skin and body
First of all, explain the "leather armor", which is said to be Theratel's biggest weapon.
The honey badger's skin is thick, and the beast's fangs and claws cannot easily penetrate it.
However, if it is just hard, it may be caught when bitten.
Therefore, when the honey badger is bitten from the back to the back by the lion, etc., the skin on its back will stretch flexibly, and it can turn completely from behind (towards the lion's face).
One of the weaknesses in the faces of many predators is the nose, so honey badgers can stay away from lions.
All that's left to do now is escape! ...... I think so, but honey badgers tend to attack rather than flee. This has to do with the honey badger's personality.
About personality
Honey badgers know they are strong, possess many weapons, and will not hesitate to fight the large animals, people, and poisonous snakes that most small animals fear.
Honey badgers with the "strongest and most terrifying" personality will attack themselves when attacked by large beasts or poisonous snakes.
Many animals are afraid of animals taller than themselves and poisonous animals, but honey badgers have no common sense.
The image of a small honey badger raising its tail while challenging the image of a large lion is shocking.
A little chihuahua barking desperately to protect its family may be inspiring, but honey badgers are not.
Honey badgers often "fight because they feel sorry for themselves".
Honey badgers often show toothless expressions, which may be due to this ferocious personality. It is often said that character is reflected in the face.
In addition, the honey badger itself may pretend to be dead, take advantage of the opponent's gap, or deliberately attack only the opponent's key points (such as testicles).
Although he would go to find the little lion himself, if an adult lion came, he would run away and go after the little lion alone.
In addition, during the breeding season, their personalities become more ferocious.
By the way, the name Honey Badger is sometimes used for the names and themes of combat vehicles, guns, and rockwork, but this is because honey badgers are "strongest."
Partnerships with birds
Sage is known as the strongest and scariest, but its favorite food is the cute "honey." And the method of obtaining honey is very unique.
In order to obtain honey, the presence of a bird called the Honey Guide is essential.
When the bird finds the hive, it makes a chirping sound and takes the honey badger to its place.
When the honey badger arrives, it smashes the hive with all its might.
A hive that has no power to destroy the hive on its own, but after the honey badger destroys it, it can find spilled honey and bee larvae.
This mutually beneficial relationship is called symbiosis, and birds and honey badgers are indeed symbiotic.
Honey badgers have no predators
Large carnivores, snakes are somewhat predatory
The honey badger is the strongest and even has a symbiotic relationship with other creatures, but does it have natural enemies?
The answer is, "On the contrary, no." ”
Carnivores such as big cats (lions, leopards, etc.), canines (hyenas, jackals, etc.), crocodiles, etc. cannot compete with actual physical strength and may be preyed upon by losing strength or numbers.
That is to say, from the perspective of others, it can be said that "large carnivores are the natural enemies of honey badgers."
However, since the honey badger itself can fight back against large beasts, it is often able to fight back even when attacked.
Although honey badgers do not prey on large animals, they are reported to sneak up on injuries or even kill them.
In addition, they have a predatory relationship with snakes, acting like eternal rivals in the mysterious relationship between honey badgers sometimes preying on and preying.
In addition, predators are the object of "fear" of most animals, but as mentioned above, honey badgers do not have much fear.
If you could hear the honey badger's voice, you would be dismissed and said, "Predator? Fearsome? I didn't. ”
In this way, it is no exaggeration to say that the honey badger actually occupies the top of the food chain, because it can even defeat lions.
Your favorite bee, your fellow countrymen, your natural enemies?
Honey badgers have few natural predators, but there are creatures that directly cause their death.
They make their favorite food, honey
Honey badgers have thin faces, and when stung by a large number of bees, they are shocked to death by poison.
The honey badger is strongly resistant to snake venom, but its weakness is that it cannot handle large amounts of bee venom.
Moreover, encountering such a natural enemy bee may also be the death god of honey badgers.
wraparound
Known as the guinness of the world's most fearless animal, the honey badger is more than just a reckless creature.
Because he has the strongest weapons, he naturally has a confident personality.
We also want to have a weapon that can actively fight powerful enemies like honey badgers.