The honey badger a.k.a. ratel
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THE HONEY BADGER A.K.A. RATEL By Christopher Justin Tan Ong
description
By Christopher Justin Tan Ong. The honey badger a.k.a. ratel. Honey badgers - love honey and look somewhat like a Eurasian badger. Ratels - Afrikaans word for “rattle” and make a rattle-like noise when growling. Introduction. How their names came about…. Classification. Kingdom: Animalia - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of The honey badger a.k.a. ratel
THE HONEY BADGER A.K.A. RATELBy Christopher Justin Tan Ong
INTRODUCTION Honey badgers - love honey and look
somewhat like a Eurasian badger. Ratels - Afrikaans word for “rattle” and make a
rattle-like noise when growling.
How their names came about…..
CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Mustelidae Subfamily: Mellivorinae Genus: Mellivora Species: capensis
Closely related to weasels.
Have their own subfamily.
Not closely related to badgers.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
White-gray top with black under parts
White mantle darkens through age
Muscular, sharp long claws, and bushy tail
Strong immune system
Loose tough skin
MALE AND FEMALE DIFFERENCES
MALE FEMALE Average male length: 39
inches Average male shoulder
height: 15.5 inches Average male weight: 20-
31 lbs
Average female length: 31 inches
Average female shoulder height: 14 inches
Average female weight;10-22lbs
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT They can live in
almost all conditions.
DIET
BIG FOOD SMALL FOOD Large reptiles Large mammals
Small animals such as bugs and birds
Eats fruits, roots, and HONEY!
Ratels have sharp strong claws because 80% of its food is from digging.
HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
BAD RELATIONSHIPS GOOD RELATIONSHIPS Attack humans when
frightened Raid barns Dig under foundations
to eat at livestock Humans kill these
creatures with traps, guns, and poison.
Protected in some countries
Reserved by some people
CONSERVATION STATUS IUCN least concern Decreasing Main threat is humans
REPRODUCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
Female with cub
Female and Male
Ratels mate year round.
Male home ranges may have thirteen female home ranges in it and may mate with all of them.
Babies born in a burrow, blind and naked.
Mom has 1-4 babies.
PARENTAL CARE Male will protect female in estrus but
will leave when the baby comes out Mother will change dens frequently 8 month male ratel is as big as the
mom. 14 month ratel is let go.
LONGEVITY, MORTALITY, SEASONAL PATTERNS
LONGEVITY AND MORTALITY SEASONAL PATTERNS Lives 26.4 years in the
wild Lives 26.5 years in
captivity
Nocturnal in the summer
Diurnal in the winter. Usually nocturnal if
affected by human activity.
ASSOCIATIONS AND DEFENSES
ASSOCIATIONS DEFENSES Animals follow ratels
because 40% of the food it digs goes above ground.
Honey guide leads ratel to honey. Ratel eats honey and the bird eats larvae.
Farts when hurt. Rips of testicles then
goes for everything else.
Sometimes attack humans in the same way.
FUN EXUBERATING FACTS 1972, a honey badger killed a lion. Top speed 15 mph most fearless animal in Guinness Book of
World Records. Skin can stop machetes, some arrows, and
some bullets. Skull can ‘lock’. Sometimes the ratel won’t
let go until the enemy is dead or itself is dead.
Females’ territories sometimes overlap. They pee on the ground to signify their presence.
They can eat almost anything. They have genius defense
mechanisms. They’re skin can stop a
machete. They can live in all climates. They’re fearless and carefree.
CONCLUSION
Works Cited
Firestone, Matthew D., Mary Fitzpatrick, Nana Luckham, Kate Thomas, Luke Hunter, Susan Rhind, and David Andrew. "Honey Badger." Watching Wildlife: Southern Africa ; South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia. Footscray, Vic.: Lonely Planet, 2009. 213. Print.
Hearst, Michael, and Jelmer Noordeman. "Honey Badger." Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of the Earth's Strangest Animals. San Francisco: Chronicle, 2012. 54-55. Print.
"The Honey Badger - Mellivora Capensis." The Honey Badger - Mellivora Capensis. Cool Web Disignz, 2012. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. <http://www.honeybadger.com/>.
"Honey Badger (Mellivora Capensis)." Honey Badger Videos, Photos and Facts. Wildscreen, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. <http://www.arkive.org/honey-badger/mellivora-capensis/>.
"Honey Badgers @ National Geographic Magazine." Honey Badgers @ National Geographic Magazine. National Geographic Society, 2005. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0409/feature6/index.html>.
"Mellivora Capensis." Animal Diversity Web. Hiller, 1999. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. <http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Mellivora_capensis//accounts/Mellivora_capensis/>.
"Mellivora Capensis." IUCN Redlist. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. <http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41629/0>.
N.d. YouTube. Dir. Navimaru. Perf. Navimaru. YouTube. YouTube, 24 Mar. 2009. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPKlryXwmXk>.
YouTube. Dir. Vlogbrothers. Perf. Vlogbrothers. YouTube. YouTube, 30 Nov. 2011. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Jr9JKpsX8>.
THANK YOU TRULY FOR LISTENING TO MY PRESENTATION.
