Badger Vs Honey Badger: The Ultimate Badger Showdown

Badgers belong to the mustelid family which is one of the largest families of carnivore order. There are almost 50 to 60 species in this order like otters, weasels, ferrets, etc. you can find the members of this family in all the regions of the world from the arctic to tropical. Most of them have short limbs and long but small bodies. They are very well known for the special scent they release from their anal glands.

There are many species of badgers but the most prominent are hog badgers, European badgers, American badgers, Japanese badgers, and honey badgers.

Main difference between badger and honey badger

There are many differences between badger and honey badgers but the main difference which we can observe from the distance is the color of their fur. Honey badgers have a yellowish shade in their brown color fur especially in the upper portion of their body while normal badgers like American and European badgers have black & white color body with the main dominance of black color.

Let’s discuss all the other differences.

Characteristics	Badger	Honey badger
Fur	Don’t have yellowish-brown fur on the upper side of their body.	Have yellowish-brown fur on their body.
Ears	Visible ears	Almost invisible.
Head	Long head	Small head
Snout	Long snout	Short snout
Geographical location	Africa, the Middle east, Eurasia, Europe, and America.	Africa, the Middle east, Asia, and Russia.
Claws	sharp claws	Very Sharp claws
Diet	Omnivores	Carnivores

General Appearance: badger vs honey badger

Badgers have flat wedge-shaped bodies with long but sharp claws and mainly blackish and white color body fur. They have black faces with white stripes. They are 20 to 35 inches long and weigh anywhere around 10 to 40 pounds. While honey badgers have black plus grey color fur with razor-sharp teeth and very long claws. They have short legs but they can cover short distances very quickly. They are similar to badgers’ appearance wise except for some color differences.

Diet: honey badger vs badger

Badgers are omnivore animals and like to consume both meat and plants. Mainly, the diet of the badgers consists of earthworms, grubs, rodents, slugs, insects, etc. in Britain, they like to attack hedgehogs as it is their favorite part of the diet there. They have short legs but very powerful claws which help dig and pull out hidden mammals and use them as a part of their food.

On the other hand, honey badgers are mainly carnivores and they don’t like to eat plants or fruits. They attack most of their prey by digging and also utilize their acute senses for this purpose. They love to eat honey larvae and for this purpose, they occasionally climb for getting honey. Mainly they eat rabbits, rodents, crocodiles, and pythons. They also love to eat snakes and the most venomous snakes of Africa like the black mamba and king cobra are included in their diet.

Habitat: badger vs honey badger

Badgers like to live in open fields and grasslands. Some areas like woodlands, mountains, hedgerows, and moorlands have also become their favorite places to live. They reside in the dens or burrows that they make on their own. They are solitary in nature but sometimes they also like to live with clans called cetes.

On the other hand, honey badgers like to live in dry and arid regions. But honey badgers are easily adaptable to various kinds of environments and they can adjust themselves in areas like deserts, grasslands, and mountains. They are also good swimmers and climbers.

Distribution: badger vs honey badger

Badgers have several species. They can be located in every nook and corner of the world. For instance, you will see American badgers in the great plains of North America, Hog badgers in the Southeast Asian region, Asian badgers in the china and Eastern Europe region, and European badgers throughout the various regions of Europe.

While honey badgers mainly reside in Sub-saharan Africa. You can locate them in the lower southern region like in the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa to North African regions like Morocco and Algeria. Sometimes, they were also found in the regions like Iran, middle-east, India, etc. They are actually highly adaptable and could easily adjust in dry, arid, wet, or humid regions.

Social behavior

Badgers are nocturnal animals. They remain active in the evening till the end of the night and mostly remain inside their den or sleep in the morning hours. They like to keep themselves neat and clean. That’s why they have made special badger latrines outside their dens for poop. They might be solitary in nature but they also like to live with clans by making some very big setts having a range between 22 to 109 yards. By nature, they don’t cooperate with any animal but they were seen with coyotes while hunting as it is beneficial for both of them.

Honey badgers are carnivorous animals and only meet with other animals for mating purposes. Male badgers have no role in raising the young badgers as it is the duty wholly performed by the female badger. They like to live in very large houses which could be as large as 500 square kilometers. Sometimes, they also overlap their territory with the territory of other animals. They don’t like to defend their territory but they defend their female partners especially if they are pregnant.

Honey badger vs American badger

Many people have been asking questions about the strength of honey badgers as compared to American badgers. Although these animals rarely encounter in the field people want to know if a fight happens between a badger and a honey badger then who would win this fight?

There are chances that the honey badger would be the ultimate winner. Honey badgers might have the same size as the size of the badger but the honey badger have very thick as well as flexible skin and they are also very much adaptable. American badger also has some edge over honey badger as they have less weight, better killing sense, and are a naturally trained predator.

However, the ultimate edge that the honey badger has over the American badger is that the honey badger has a very heavy body, and thick skin and it can take as much punishment as possible. It has also been said that they could even withstand the hit of a bullet without having any serious damage.

If a fight happens between them, the American badger will act very aggressively throughout the fight but the honey badger would like to give the ultimate blow and get rid of the American badger.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

Badgers and honey badgers are well-known animals of the mustelid family. Many people are actually confused about their properties and appearance and most of the time intermix them. However, we have resolved this problem once and for all by highlighting all the similarities and differences between these animals. You can clarify your idea about badgers and honey badgers once you go through this article completely.