Ratel
From Free net encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Ratel (disambiguation).
Image:Honey badger.jpg{{Taxobox
| color = pink | name = Ratel | status = Conservation status: Secure | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Mammalia | ordo = Carnivora | familia = Mustelidae | subfamilia = Mellivorinae | genus = Mellivora | species = M. capensis | binomial = Mellivora capensis | binomial_authority = (Schreber, 1776) }} The Ratel (Mellivora capensis), also known as the Honey Badger, is a member of the Mustelidae family. They are distributed throughout most of Africa and western and south Asia. It is the only species classified in the genus Mellivora and the subfamily Mellivorinae
Behavior
They have a great appetite for ravaging beehives. Their appetite for beehives is so enormous that there have been cases of dead ratels being found, stung to death within the hives they were trying to eat. Commercial honey producers do not take kindly to this destruction and sometimes shoot, trap, or poison ratels they suspect of damaging their hives.
Some sources say that a bird, the honeyguide, has a habit of leading Ratels and other large mammals to bees' nests. When a Ratel breaks into the nest, the birds take their share too. Other sources say that honeyguides are only known to guide humans; see Greater Honeyguide.
The Ratel is among the fiercest hunters of the desert, with prey including earthworms, termites, scorpions, porcupines, hares and even snakes. Its ferocious reputation extends to attacks on animals much larger than itself. Several African tribes report that the honey badger attacks the scrotum of larger mammals if provoked and has even castrated humans. While these reports remain uncorroborated by first-hand evidence, there is some circumstantial evidence such as remains of castrated Waterbuck and Gnu found in Kruger National Park (dead by blood loss).
Etymology and pronunciation
The word Ratel is the Afrikaans word for rattle (possibly because of the animal's sounds). In English it is accented on the first syllable, and the "a" is pronounced as in "father."