Stamp of USSR 1987 - Red book - The honey badger. (4 stamps)
A nocturnal creature, honey badgers (or ratels) are
known for being vicious, fearless and aggressive. Black apart from a
silver-grey and white mantle which extends from its head to the tail tip, the
honey badger is powerfully built and will attack anyone who threatens it.
A fully grown adult male can stand as
high as 30cm, and be up to 1m in total length. Females are generally much
smaller. They weigh on average around 25 pounds, but they do not let their
relatively small size deter them. They are quite happy to stand up
to lions, leopards and hyenas, and normally will win the day and see off the
other larger predator.
They are
generally solitary animals, and are one of the lesser seen African
mammals. They live in burrows, which they excavate themselves with their strong
foreclaws.
Their diet
includes dung beetles, scorpions, spiders, tortoises, snakes, lizards, rodents
and mongoose.
Their extremely thick skin seemingly makes them impervious to snake bites, as they are able to catch and eat even the most deadliest and poisonous snakes.
They take their name from their predation
of bees and their unique foraging relationship with the greater honey
guide. The small bird leads a honey badger to a beehive, and then waits
patiently for the honey badger to open up the hive and eat its fill of the
honey and bee larvae. Once the honey badger leaves the hive, the honey guide
will then feed on the remaining beeswax.
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