In the Kruger National Park, guide Leon Badenhorst came across an unfortunate honey badger pup that had drawn the attention of three lions where it lay in the middle of the road.
Leon was near the Phalaborwa Gate when he spied the lions and settled in to watch, not even noticing the badger pup at first because of its small size. The lions appeared to notice it straight away, and definitely thought it was worthy of a more thorough investigation.
Watch the sighting:
A Tasty Snack
This lion’s investigation was far more than a cursory affair, with it spending some time sniffing and poking the cub with its paw, no doubt trying to work out exactly what it was dealing with.
Leon described the lion’s behavior as “strangely gentle” for a while, up until “it realized this was something it could eat”. At that point it was already far too late for the baby badger which was completely dwarfed by the size of the lion, so much so that it would barely have registered as a snack.
Baby Badgers
Honey badgers will give birth to their pups one or two at a time, and are notorious for being particularly aggressive animals despite their small size. Cubs are born blind and are entirely dependent on their mothers for the first few months of their lives.
Honey badger moms are incredibly protective and often more aggressive than usual in order to defend their pups which will need up to two years before they’re old enough to break out by themselves. The fact this little pup was in the road all on its own, especially during the day which is unusual for nocturnal animals, would suggest that something has already happened to the mother before the lions came across it.
Badger Vs Lion
Unfortunately, it might have been the lions that happened to the honey badger’s mother. These little badgers don’t have many natural predators, and even the animals that will eat them often tend not to bother because of how much they’ll fight back.
But, despite their ferocity making them difficult prey, honey badgers are still small and vulnerable to larger animals, and lions and leopards especially will hunt and kill them, as well as some other predators like crocodiles and hyenas.
Fear The King
Honey badgers have actually made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as being the most fearless animals on the planet, but even they will reconsider when it comes time to fight something the size of a lion. When their fight or flight response kicks in, they have been known to take on the large felines and even buffalo, but the difference in size is often too great for them to overcome.
If they can prove more trouble than they’re worth then the lion might leave them alone, but the risk is great and the honey badger will often try to stay out of the lion’s way so that they won’t have to fight it. Whether or not these lions are responsible for the disappearance of this pup’s mother is unknown, but it does, unfortunately, seem likely.