Why Honey Badgers Are FRAUDS

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/CreatureChallenge In this video, I debunk the most common myths about honey badgers and humble the most overrated animal glazed by the internet. There is a lot of lore about this animal out there saying 'honey badgers don't care'. But, science actually shows honey badgers do care, a lot. So, let’s go bust the first overhyped thing right now. The internet glazes honey badgers like they are some mini bear that can tear a gazelle a new one. But that’s way far from the truth. So just how big is a honey badger? Well, adult males are said to average between 13 and 30 lbs. And because honey badgers are the size of a large house cat, they aren't out there hunting the big game you think they are. Comprehensive Life History research found that 80% of their prey items weighed between 5 and 100 grams. That is the weight of a mouse, a scorpion, or a small reptile. And this is why strength debates get stupid when you skip body mass. Physics is still physics. Hate to break it to ya, but size does matter, people. Being a 20-pound carnivore in a world where your neighbors include 400 lb lions or 130 lb leopards is a terrifying existence. Alright, now let’s talk about the biggest lie on the internet when it comes to honey badgers - this idea that they’re invincible and have no natural predators. That claim is embarrassingly wrong. First off, honey badgers absolutely do not sit at the top of the food chain. According to long-term predator-guild research from the Kalahari, authors explicitly describe lions, leopards, and spotted hyenas preying on adults. Oh, and let’s not forget that jackals snipe the cubs too. Honey badgers are on the menu, folks. And here is the smoking gun that destroys the Immortal myth. That same Kalahari study reported an annual adult mortality rate of roughly 34%. Think about that number. One out of every three adults dies every year. Let that sink in. That is the profile of an animal living a desperate, hard life where death is always around the corner. If it was really that untouchable demon people hype, it would not be clocking one-third adult mortality every single year. But this brings me to the biggest misconception of all: The reputation. The lore says honey badger don't care. Well, science says honey badgers care a lot. A peer-reviewed habitat study found that leopard presence actually had a negative effect on honey badger detection. So, translation? Well, honey badgers actively avoid areas where leopards are present. Now, let’s talk about another pretty big lie everyone treats like a superpower: The venom immunity myth. That’s not true; it’s actually more of a tolerance. You’ve all seen the clips. Honey badger gets bitten by a venomous snake and shakes it off as if nothing happened. I mean, there are countless videos of honey vs snake interactions (specifically honey badgers vs cobras). There is a specific reason why the venom doesn't seem to affect them. According to toxicology research, they possess a mutation called W187R in a specific receptor (nicotinic acetylcholine receptor). This is basically only good for a specific type of neurotoxin found in cobras, which paralyzes your diaphragm so you stop breathing. Basically, the honey badger’s mutation changes the shape of that receptor so the venom doesn’t shut down the nervous system as efficiently as it would in most mammals. But here is the catch: This works against a specific neurotoxin in bobras. It offers zero protection against ther toxins like hemotoxins (found in puff adders) that rot flesh, or cytotoxins that destroy cells. So If a massive Viper gets a clean hit with flesh-destroying venom? The badger is in trouble. Research Articles: RESEARCH ARTICLE FOR PREY SIZE OF HONEY BADGERS: Research article: https://honeybadger.com/pdfs/life-history.pdf he Evidence of Avoidance: Study 1 (iSimangaliso Wetland Park): Leopard presence had a negative effect on honey badger detection. They avoid areas where leopards are active.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1616504717303877 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322894667_Habitat_use_by_honey_badgers_and_the_influence_of_predators_in_iSimangaliso_Wetland_Park_South_Africa Study 2 (Central India): Honey badgers shifted peak activity to midnight to minimize encounters with large carnivores temporally.https://maxallen.inhs.illinois.edu/files/2018/11/Allen-2018-Honey-Badger-Distribution.pdf Honey badger venom tolerance / resistance: A toxinology paper (“Why the honey badger don’t care”) explains honey badgers have changes in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that impede binding of snake α-neurotoxins.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25796346/ Tags: animals, wildlife, predators, honey badgers, honey badgers fight, honey badger doesn't care, lions, hyenas, leopards.