Honey badger | 台北市立動物園資訊網

Thehoneybadger(Mellivoracapensis),alsoknownastheratelisamammalwidelydistributedinAfrica,SouthwestAsia,andtheIndiansubcontinent.Because ...

Species of mammal

The honey badger (Mellivora capensis), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

It is the only living species in the genus Mellivora and in the mustelid subfamily Mellivorinae. Despite its name, the honey badger does not closely resemble other badger species; instead, it bears more anatomical similarities to weasels. It is primarily a carnivorous species and has few natural predators because of its thick skin, strength and ferocious defensive abilities.

Taxonomy

Viverra capensis was the scientific name used by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1777 who described a honey badger skin from the Cape of Good Hope.[2]Mellivorae was proposed as name for the genus by Gottlieb Conrad Christian Storr in 1780.[3] Mellivorina was proposed as a tri...