If you were exposed to popular culture in 2011, you are probably aware of the honey badger. A video featuring clips of the animal with narration by "Randall" went completely "viral," with views or "hits" reaching 35 million on You Tube by January 2012.
Surprisingly, this animal is more closely related to a weasel than it is an American badger. It's a Mustelid, as are the minks I saw wild in Noble County. Honey badgers live in Africa, SW Asia, parts of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and parts of Iran. What you may not know, is that you can see a male and female pair up close at the Fort Wayne Children Zoo. Their modern enclosure features a Lucite front so that the animals are just a few feet away, and it's possible for the kids and everyone to get a great look.
In the videos, the animals are fierce and ferocious. They have almost no natural predators. Their thick skin is so loose, they can easily twist and turn in it, so much so that if attacked and bitten by dogs, they can turn in their own skin and bite the dog back. Africans say honey badgers' hides are nearly impervious to arrows and spears, so that they must be shot to be killed.
They are carnivorous, and attack and kill many types of animals, including poisonous snakes. They also dig into termite mounds and bee hives, eating larvae, impervious to the hundreds of stings they receive. No wonder people are obsessed, fascinated by these creatures, and all they take on. People compare other people to them now, as they would a person to a bulldog or a barracuda. It's now a complement to be as tenacious as a honey badger.
Something you don't learn on Randall's video is that the h.b. has what's called a reversible anal pouch. I guess you must use your imagination, but from this pouch the animal releases what has been dubbed a suffocating odor. It's thought to help immobilize the bees, for example. The formidable h.b. has a life span of up to 24 or so years.
Animal fads and popularity come and go. It's great when they "go" - remember the pot-bellied pig craze? We don't need lots of those running around as house pets. Randall's 15 minutes of fame has come - supposedly he started a mini book tour last week in Santa Monica, promoting a book about fearsome creatures. Check out the You Tube video - you'll see the h.b. surviving a cobra bite, and go on to eat the offending snake. As Randall has whined, "that's nasty!". But it's an amusing video, and the honey badger is an awesome species. Make a trip to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo when it opens for the year to see one for yourself. You'll feel almost famous.
