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When you think about badgers, you probably think of the benevolent striped creature bumbling quietly around the British countryside – you know, the black and white guy that inspired Beatrix Potter’s Tommy Brock.
And if you don’t know Beatrix Potter, you’ll likely be familiar with another Potter – the bespectacled one with a lightning bolt on his forehead. Sure, he wasn’t a Hufflepuff, but don’t we all have a special place in our hearts for the genuinely lovely yellow house with the badger as its emblem?
It’s no wonder that badgers are rife in fiction and kids TV (think The Wind in the Willows, Rupert the Bear’s buddy Bill Badger, or – if you are a British millennial – the titular badger from the BBC’s 80s and 90s children’s hit, Bodger and Badger).
They’re kind, they’re gentle, they’re a little goofy – and for that, we all loved them.
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Enter the honey badger (Ratel), so called because they love to hunt through honey for bee larvae.
And sure they share a name, but the daft and benevolent characteristics of your trademark badger? Well, the honey badger is absolutely not that.
In fact, according to an article from San Diego Zoo, these creatures (which are related to the ‘regular’ badger, but instead hail from Africa and Asia) are not the characters you want to bump into down a dark alley at night:
“Does the honey badger have a sweet personality? No! It would be hard to find a more quarrelsome animal than the honey badger. It doesn’t start fights it can’t finish, and it makes an impressive foe. Also, the honey badger’s skin is tough and loose, allowing it to twist around and bite an opponent that has grabbed it by the back of its neck. Combine that with a massive skull, strong teeth, and that awful odor, and you have wildlife nobody wants to mess with!”
Literally a honey badger’s skin is so thick that it is unbothered by bee stings, porcupine quills and dog bites; so if you get into a fight with this little guy, chances are you’re losing.
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Fast? Yes. Good climber? Yes. Massive claws? Yes. Stink-releasing a### gland? Of course. Wildly aggressive? Sure. Strong swimmer? Yes. Eats basically everything? You got it.
It’s like nature wrapped up all the worst parts of other animals and funnelled them into this meter-long all-terrain beast.
And that’s exactly why they’re iconic.
In fact, the honey badger has become a vivid part of popular culture, synonymous with tenacity, determination, fearlessness, and independence – it even became the nickname of fan-favorite Aussie F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo.
They’re terrifying – and we love them for it.
Thought that was fascinating? Here’s another story you might like: Why You’ll Never See A Great White Shark In An Aquarium