
Daily animal profile - Honey badger!
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Its official name is ratel, but this animal gets the common name from the fact that its favourite food is... you guessed it: honey!
The honey badger is part of the weasel family and is related to skunks, otters, ferrets, and other badgers.



BODY
This tough little creature has a flattened, stocky body with strong, short legs, along with long claws on the front feet for defence and digging. The honey badger's hair is thick and coarse, mostly black, with a wide gray-white stripe that stretches across its back from the top of the head to the tip of the tail.
ODOUR
Does it remind you of a skunk? The honey badger also has a gland at the base of its tail that stores a stinky liquid just as powerful as that of its look-alike. The smelly stuff is used to mark territory, but if the honey badger is frightened or threatened, it drops a "stink bomb" rather than spraying the odour like its skunk relative does. The honey badger's odour doesn’t last long, like that of a skunk’s, but it still gets its message across: "Leave me alone!".
DEFENCE
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 the animal 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 odour, and you have an animal nobody wants to mess with!