Russel, who took the video, was woken up at 3 AM by the persistent fellow and said, “I don’t even know how he opened the tamper-proof dustbin.”
Honey badgers are known to raid bins and are considered incredibly intelligent.
Watch The Sighting:
This one seems like a fussy eater. Russel explained how he sniffed some bean salad he found in the bin, and deciding it wasn’t his thing, tossed it away. He then continued to scrounge for more food.
He used his long claws to dig through the rubbish in search of food. These claws typically help honey badgers burrow underground with ease. They can also dig themselves out of almost any enclosure or situation, often within minutes.
Super Smart Honey Badger Takes Spotlight
Russel wasn’t sure how it got into the tamper-proof bin, but it’s not the first time honey badgers have cracked tough puzzles
Some wildlife parks have had to design special enclosures just to keep them from escaping or raiding supplies!
This 3 AM food thief was definitely super smart. It held Russel’s full attention as it, quite effortlessly, enjoyed an easy meal.
A Force To Be Reckoned With
Despite their names, “honey” badgers and adorable demeanour, they are a force to be reckoned with.
Although they eat honey (often raiding beehives), they’re opportunistic carnivores. Their diet includes rodents, birds, reptiles, insects, and fruit.
They also have a reputation for being fearless and confrontational when needed. They have earned the title of ‘world’s most fearless animal’ by Guinness World Records.
It’s for this reason that you don’t want to confront a honey badger when it is on an early morning bin raid.
The creature pulled out items from the bin one by one. It inspected each one. Some of it was chewed on. Others it tossed aside.
It went through the bin as though scrounging for food was something it did fairly often, something it likely did often.
Honey badgers aren’t very big. They usually weigh between 9 to 16kg (males), or 5 to 10kg (females), and grow up to 77cm in length.
Despite their modest size, they are remarkably strong for their build and have no problem taking on animals much larger than themselves. Their compact, muscular frame, thick skin, and sharp claws make them highly formidable.
They have been known to take on even lions when provoked. They’ve also been known to eat venomous snakes, including puff adders and cobras
So while they might devour puff adders and cobras, this one clearly draws the line at bean salad.
This beautiful encounter is a reminder that incredible things happen both inside and outside of camps in the game reserve.
For this reason, carry a camera with you even while you are in the camp… and always remain vigilant. There are always new surprises waiting around every corner in the game reserve.