Honey badger
Mellivora capensis (Schreber, 1776)
The honey badger (Mellivora capensis), also called ratel or rattel, is a mammal of the family Mustelidae in the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial, diurnal carnivore with a representative adult body mass of 8.5 kg and a highest reported value of 10 kg.
Quick facts about the honey badger
Its main foods are bee, beehive, carrion, gecko, honey, larva, madoqua, naja, old world porcupine, pedetes capensis, rhombomyina, testudinidae and tuber. The honey badger is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 8.5 kg – 10 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- 55 cm – 77 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 26.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 31.3 years
- Main food
- bee, beehive, carrion, gecko, honey, larva and 7 moresrc for Main food
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 180 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.33src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Live birthsrc for Reproduction
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the honey badger?
Photos of the honey badger
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the honey badger live?
Not recorded
What is the honey badger?
The honey badger (Mellivora capensis), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed across Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the sole living representative of the Mellivorinae subfamily of the Mustelidae.
It has a fairly long body, with a distinctly thick-set and broad back, and remarkably loose skin, allowing the badger to turn and twist freely within it. The largest terrestrial mustelid in Africa, the honey badger measures 55 to 77 cm (22 to 30 in) long and weighs up to 16 kg (35 lb). Sexual dimorphism has been recorded in this species, with males being larger and heavier than females. It has two pairs of mammae, and an eversible anal pouch.
The honey badger is a solitary animal that can be active at any time of day, depending on the location. It is primarily a carnivorous species and has few natural predators because of its thick skin, strength and ferocious defensive abilities. Adults maintain large home ranges, and display scent-marking behavior. The species has no fixed breeding period. After a gestation of 50–70 days, a female will give birth to an average of one to two cubs that will remain under her care for 1–1+1⁄4 years. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. In popular media, the honey badger is best known as an aggressive, intelligent animal that is fearless and tough in nature.
From the Wikipedia article “Honey badger” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Honey_badger&oldid=1385043373), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the honey badger endangered?
The honey badger is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the honey badger classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyMustelidae
- genusMellivora
- SpeciesMellivora capensis (Schreber, 1776)
Synonyms Viverra capensis
Other names and names in other languages (63)
- RatelEnglish
- RatelEnglish
- RattelEnglish
- HeuningdasAfrikaans
- HeuningratelAfrikaans
- غرير العسلArabic
- غريراء العسلArabic
- МедаедBelarusian
- Medojed kapskýCzech
- HonninggrævlingDanish
- HonigdachsGerman
- chirDinka
- ΜελοασβόςGreek
- Ασβός του μελιούGreek
- Tejón de la mielSpanish
- MeemägerEstonian
- mesimäyräFinnish
- Blaireau à mielFrench
- ઘોર ખોદીયુંGujarati
- dageHausa
- גירית הדבשHebrew
- méhészborzHungarian
- RateleItalian
- MellivoraItalian
- RateloItalian
- Tasso del mieleItalian
- ラーテルJapanese
- ミツアナグマJapanese
- ndinguKamba
- ThegereKikuyu
- ИтаюKazakh
- kogtoKalenjin
- chepkachamiitKalenjin
- 라텔Korean
- 벌꿀오소리Korean
- NtheereMeru
- shandamhw
- HonninggrevlingNorwegian Bokmål
- HoningdasDutch
- kgoogoNorthern Sotho
- chuiirNuer
- ratel miodożernyPolish
- Texugo-do-melPortuguese
- МедоедRussian
- РательRussian
- sereShona
- chidemboShona
- chitsereShona
- tsereShona
- HonungsgrävlingSwedish
- ฮันนี่แบดเจอร์Thai
- Bal porsuğuTurkish
- magogoTswana
- magogweTswana
- magwagweTswana
- maTshwaneTswana
- moNamogweTswana
- XidzidziTsonga
- МедоїдUkrainian
- TshiseleleVenda
- KundWolof
- 蜜獾Chinese
- inseleZulu
Relatives of the honey badger
Other species in the same family Mustelidae.
European badger
Meles meles
Least weasel
Mustela nivalis
Eurasian otter
Lutra lutra
Stoat
Mustela erminea
Wolverine
Gulo gulo
European pine marten
Martes martes
CompareHoney badger vs European badgerHoney badger vs Least weaselHoney badger vs Eurasian otterHoney badger vs Stoat
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a honey badger?
The honey badger is a mammal in the family Mustelidae, order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial carnivore.
How heavy is a honey badger?
An adult honey badger has a representative body mass of 8.5 kg, with a highest reported value of 10 kg.
What does a honey badger eat?
The honey badger is a carnivore whose main foods are bee, beehive, carrion, gecko, honey, larva, madoqua, naja, old world porcupine, pedetes capensis, rhombomyina, testudinidae and tuber.
Is the honey badger endangered?
No. The honey badger is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a honey badger live?
The honey badger has a lifespan of 26.5 years, with a highest reported value of 31.3 years.
How many young does a honey badger have?
A honey badger has 2.33 young per litter and 2 litters per year, after a gestation period of 180 days.
Is the honey badger active during the day?
Yes. The honey badger is diurnal.
Who named the honey badger?
The scientific name Mellivora capensis is attributed to (Schreber, 1776).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Honey badger (Mellivora capensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/honey-badger
“Honey badger (Mellivora capensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/honey-badger.
@misc{honey_badger_2026,
title = {Honey badger (Mellivora capensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/honey-badger},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}