Habits: The ratel is mainly nocturnal. It spends the day below ground and emerges at dusk to hunt through the night. If it is undisturbed the ratel sometimes emerges from its burrow by day as well. The ratel either digs its own burrow or takes over on belonging to another animal, such as the aardvark. It may also live in a rock crevice or in a hole among tree roots. When it digs its own burrow, the ratel creates a tunnel 40 feet long that may be as much as five feet deep. Despite its small size, the ratel is one of the most ferocious of all animals. Its fierceness is especially evident in the breeding season, when it attacks for no apparent reason. 

If the ratel is threatened by a person or another animal, its defense is to attack. It grips the intruder in its powerful jaws and maintains its hold. The ratel is generally solitary by nature, although males and females mat occasionally be seen together in pairs. The ratel’s skin is so thick that it is rarely penetrated by porcupine quills, snake fangs, stings, or the teeth and claws of predators. The ratel digs at an incredibly fast speed. It sometimes does so as a means of defense. The ratel climbs trees to get to beehives but spends most of its time on the ground.

Food and Hunting: The ratel eats almost anything it finds. Its varied diet includes small mammals and birds, as well as snakes, fish, scorpions, and termites and other insects. It also eats eggs, berries, fruit, tubers, roots, and honey – even the deadly mamba snake. When it is searching for food, the ratel digs into the burrows of meerkats, ground squirrels, rats, and mice, killing and eating the occupants. It also kills domestic sheep and chickens.

Breeding: The ratel, sometimes called the “honey badger,” is so secretive that little is known about its breeding habits. One or two young are born after a gestation period of six to seven months. Birth takes place in a burrow, rock crevices, or hollow tree. Researchers believe that the male takes no part in raising the young.

Special Adaptations: The ratel’s contrasting black and white markings make it conspicuous in its habitat. Thus larger animals are warned to leave the ratel alone. The ratel squirts intruders with a skunklike scent from glands located under its tail. The ratel’s long, thick, and sharp front claws are used for digging, attack, and defense.

Key Facts:
Sizes:
Length: Up to 3 ft., including tail
Height: 12 in. to shoulder
Weight: 18-35 lb. Male heavier than female

Breeding:
Sexual maturity: Not known
Mating: Not known
Gestation: 6-7 months
Litter size: 1-2 young

Lifestyle:
Habit: Nocturnal; usually solitary. 
Diet: Birds, fish, retiles, carrion, roots, tubers, fruit, and berries
Call: Grunts, growls, and howls
Lifespan: 25 years in captivity. Average lifespan in the wild not known

Related Species: The European common badger, Meles meles, and the North American badger, Taxidea taxus, are similar in appearance and habits.
Distribution: Found over most of Africa from southern Morocco to the Cape. Also found in the Middle East, Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Nepal, and India.
Conservation: The ratel is in no danger of extinction, but it is becoming rarer where human population and agriculture have spread.

The Ratel and the Honeyguide: The ratel has a unique partnership with the honeyguide bird. The honeyguide locates a beehive and then calls the ratel to follow it. When the ratel reaches the beehive, it climbs up to it and rips it open. It then eats the honey before leaving the hive to the bird, which feeds on the larvae and wax.

Did You Know: 
In arid regions the ratel digs holes in dry riverbeds to obtain water. The action also benefits other species in the area. The elephant is one of the few other animals that digs for water.
The ratel kills tortoises by biting through and smashing the shells to get at the flesh.
Of it is grabbed by the back of its neck, the ratel can turn around inside its loose skin to bite the assailant.

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