THE TRUE BADGER

Here are some pictures of Badger playing with our dog, Nandi. These games would sometimes last for hours, until one or the other collapsed with exhaustion.
The following is an extract from wildlife artist Vic Guhr’s book The Trouble with Africa. To his horror, he has just found his dog, Baked Beans, in a tussle with a couple of wild honey badgers.
“My first impulse is to run to his rescue, save him from a mauling by these two savage creatures. But instead I stand and watch the game they are playing. A badger pounces on Baked Beans and pins him to the ground. The dog wriggles out from underneath and drops into a crouch. His curly tail is erect now, his head low, ears flattened against his skull. The badger stands still and waits for the dog to catapult himself towards him. They engage for a brief moment, then the dog breaks loose and runs as if in flight. But he stops in mid-stride, spins around and launches himself like a missile at the other cub. The first cub jumps high in the air and lands on both their backs, and they roll in the dirt again in a tight knot.”
Right from the start, we treated Badge with love and respect and in return we received his complete trust and devotion. Apart from the in-depth study by Keith and Colleen Begg (see below), little is known about this small, secretive animal. We were lucky enough to spend over 3500 hours following our cub on his journey back into the wild, and he kept us constantly fascinated by his intelligence, his versatility and his humour.
As a nocturnal animal, Badge was at his most energetic when we were ready for bed. So when he was about a year old, he began to spend more nights out on his own. We couldn’t keep him against his will, nor did we want to – a badger’s home range is huge, in the Kalahari around 600 – 800 square kilometers, and all his instincts were taking him out into his own world. We had to let him take his chances with other badgers, with hunters and their guns and snares, with leopards and with snakes, no matter how large or nasty.
By sharing his world with us, we were able to see it through Badger’s eyes. And he proved to us, time and time again, that far from being the meanest animal in the world, he had all the attributes we most admire in another human being – courage, loyalty, humour, determination and absolute honesty.
Robert Ruark got it horribly wrong, as have all the other so-called experts who have perpetuated the myth over the years. Honey Badgers don’t go for the groin, instead they capture your heart, and once you have got to know this charismatic little animal, you will never, ever forget him.

MORE INFORMATION:
Website: http://honeybadger.com - Colleen and Keith Begg

Books: Wild Honey by Bookey Peek published in the UK and Max Press; in South Africa by Penguin Books – and elsewhere: a sequel to All the Way Home by Bookey Peek - published in the UK by Max Press; in South Africa by Penguin Books – and elsewhere.
Films/DVDs: Honey Badger - Raising Hell by Richard Peek - distributed by National Geographic TV International Snake Killers: Honey Badgers of the Kalahari by Keith and Colleen Begg - distributed by National Geographic and Badger Quest: Honey Hunters of Niassa by Keith and Colleen Begg





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