Mellivora capensis

Honey badgers are generally solitary and nomadic, traveling across large home ranges while searching for food. They are strong diggers and opportunistic hunters that consume mammals, reptiles, birds, insects, honey, fruit, and carrion, while using scent markings and vocalizations to communicate.

Breeding can occur throughout the year, although mating activity in southern Africa is more common from September to December. After a gestation period of approximately 50–70 days, the female usually gives birth to one cub, occasionally two, and may care for it for more than a year before it becomes independent.

Honey badgers have stocky bodies, muscular shoulders, powerful forelimbs, long digging claws, and a distinctive pale mantle extending across the back above darker underparts. Their thick, loose skin makes them difficult for predators to grip and allows them to twist around and defend themselves when attacked.

The species was formally described by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776 under the original name Viverra capensis, based on an animal associated with the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. It was later placed in the genus Mellivora and is now classified within the family Mustelidae.

The honey badger is classified as Least Concern because of its extensive geographic range and ability to survive in many different habitats. However, populations are believed to be declining in some regions because of poisoning, trapping, hunting, habitat disturbance, and conflict with farmers and beekeepers.