The honeybee (Mellivora capensis), also known as the honey badger, is an incredible predator that has gained a reputation the most fearless animal in the world. Neither poisonous snakes, nor lions, nor people stop him. His strength, aggression, incredible endurance and cunning have made him a true wildlife legend.
In this article, we will look at the origin of the honey eater, its anatomy, behavior, lifestyle, unique features, and interesting facts that explain why this animal has become a symbol of fearlessness.
📌 Scientific classification
The Kingdom: Animals (Animalia)
Type: Chordal (Chordata)
Class: Mammals (Mammalia)
Row: Predatory animals (Carnivora)
Family: Martens (Mustelidae)
Gender: Honeybees (Mellivora)
View: The honeybee (Mellivora capensis)
🔥 Why is the honeybee so brave?
🔹 Super strong skin - with a thickness of up to 6 mmIt is difficult to bite, pierce or cut. It is so flexible that a honeybee can turn around in it and bite an attacker even if the latter has grabbed it.
🔹 Resistance to poison - can survive a snake bite, even if it's a deadly cobra! A few hours after the bite, he just wakes up and continues his work.
🔹 Incredible aggression - fearlessly attacks animals larger than himself, including lions, leopards and buffaloes.
🔹 Intelligence and wit - Honeybees use stones, branches, and other objects to escape from their cages or to get food.
🎨 Description and appearance
🔸 Body length: 55-77 cm
🔸 Height at the withers: 23-28 cm
🔸 Weight: 9-16 kg
🔸 The color of the fur: black and gray; head, back and tail are light gray, and the belly and paws are black
🔸 Strong claws and jaws - ideal for digging and wrestling
🔸 The eyes are small, the nose is wide - give it a characteristic "serious" expression
🌍 Habitat
The honeycreeper is found in:
✔ Africa (from North Africa to South Africa)
✔ Middle East (Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia)
✔ Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal)
It lives in different environments - deserts, savannas, forests, steppes, but prefers open spaces with burrows.
🦴 What does a honeybee eat?
The honey eater is omnivorous predator with a very varied diet.
🔹 Favorite food:
✔ Honey and bee larvae 🐝🍯
✔ Poisonous snakes (cobras, vipers) 🐍
✔ Scorpions and spiders 🕷
✔ Rodents, hares, monkeys 🐀🐒
✔ Birds and their eggs 🦅🥚
✔ Carrion and food remains of other predators
💡 The honey-eater's trick: He often hunts with a honey pointer bird, which finds bee nests and "tells" the honey eater where to dig.
🏠 Lifestyle and behavior
🔸 Single hunter - The honeybee rarely comes into contact with other individuals.
🔸 Nori - He digs them himself or occupies abandoned burrows of foxes, badgers and pipistrelles.
🔸 Sound recording of aggression - growls, wheezes, and even emits cries that sound like baby cries.
🔸 May attack people - Although it usually avoids contact, there are cases of attacks on hunters and farmers.
🍼 Reproduction and upbringing of babies
🔹 Mating season: does not have a strict seasonality
🔹 Pregnancy: 6-7 months
🔹 Number of cubs: 1-2
🔹 Mother raises cubs in a burrow up to 3 months
🔹 Cubs are born blind, covered with thin fur
🔹 Babies leave their mothers at the age of 12-16 months
🔥 Honeybee vs. the most dangerous enemies
✔ Snakes 🐍 - the honey eater eats even the most poisonous snakes! If it is bitten by a snake, it may lose consciousness, but wakes up in a few hours.
✔ Lions and leopards 🦁 - even these predators avoid the honeybee, because it fights to the last.
✔ Hyenas and jackals 🐺 - usually do not attack a honeybee because they know that it can bite them to death.
🤯 Interesting facts about the honeybee
🔹 The most dangerous wrestler - officially recognized as the "most fearless animal in the world" by the Guinness Book of Records.
🔹 Hardy - can run for a long time without fatigue, chasing prey for tens of kilometers.
🔹 Incredible strength - a honeybee can drag its victim, which weighs three times as much as he did.
🔹 Master of escape - Honeyeaters in zoos often escape using tricks like real criminals.
🔹 A fragrant secret - The honeybee secretes a foul-smelling secretion from its anal glands to ward off enemies.
🔹 Flexible leather - If it is caught by a larger predator, the honeybee can twist inside its own skin and bite the attacker in the face!
🎯 Conclusion
The honey eater is a living legend of the wild. Its fearlessness, endurance and aggression make it one of the the most dangerous predators in the world.
💬 What do you think of this small but desperate fighter? Would you like to see him in the wild? 😎🔥
