# Honey badger (*Mellivora capensis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/honey-badger  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 8.5 kg – 10 kg |
| Length | 55 cm – 77 cm |
| Lifespan | 26.5 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 31.3 years |
| Main food | bee, beehive, carrion, gecko, honey, larva and 7 more |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 180 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2.33 |
| Litters or clutches a year | 2 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Mustelidae
- genus: Mellivora
- species: *Mellivora capensis* (Schreber, 1776)

Synonyms: *Viverra capensis*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Honey badger (Mellivora capensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/honey-badger