Animal Education 23 - Honey Badger

Animal Education 23 - Honey Badger

Alright, so I realized that I made a post yesterday, which was Sunday. Usually, I skip Sunday. However, since I am at college, I only planned four posts and am not at home to take pictures. I am going home on Friday, so I may have to skip one day this week. I may have an alternative plan, but I would have to see if I can fit it into the theme—just a heads up.
Anyway, today is about the Honey Badger. Now, why is this creature on today's misconception post? Everyone knows about it, so we should know what's true. However, many popular things get misconstrued, even if based on the truth. For example, Honey Badgers do eat honey and raid Beehives. They don't get guided by the Honey Guide Birds. This is a rumor pushed by most likely staged recordings. Certain species of Honey Guide birds do lead humans to honey, though. That is how they got their name. Anyway, what else is not true about Honey Badgers? The whole scaring off lions' things might not be true. I swear I heard somewhere that this is false, but I can't find it. Anyway, in reality, it's probably more of curious lions finding out honey badgers are very brave creatures, and deciding their investigation is not worth it, especially since honey badgers aren't big kills for a lion. Their name is even kind of a lie. They are badgers that eat honey, but each subspecies is called a Ratel. For example, my model is a Cape Ratel. So, what is true about honey badgers? Well, they can reset snake venom. If they get bit by one, they can "sleep it off." This allows them to hunt snakes. They have thick skin that helps with this, and that also helps with the bee sting mentioned at the beginning. Before we end, here is a quick fact list. They live in Africa, the Middle East, and Western Asia and can weigh anywhere from 11lbs to 35lbs depending on region and gender. Besides honey and snakes, they also eat birds and small mammals. I hope you learned a thing or two and got more accurate pictures of the Honey Badger.