Is it true that badgers can kill buffaloes?

The honey badger has an exceptionally tough and thick skin (almost 6 mm), specifically evolved to defend it from bites, claws and stings.

A good example of how tough its skin is, is that African hedgehog spines rarely penetrate it. Bear in mind that African hedgehogs are three times larger than their North American cousins.

Their second defense is tirelessness. They can literally keep fighting for hours on end. This is a problem for a predator that is already fighting to survive, and that can find the effort exhausting.

The third defense of the honey badger is that when attacked, it will aim for the groin of its attacker. There are records (Stevenson-Hamilton, 1947) from the Kruger National Park in South Africa of adult male Cape buffaloes that bled to death after being attacked by honey badgers in this way.

Finally, the honey badger has a repulsive anal gland. The smell produced by it has been described as ‘suffocating’.

The other weapons of honey badgers include a much smaller but sharper set of teeth than those of the wolverine, ferocity and stubbornness at least equal to it, and sharp claws.

The fact is that the badger is indeed a very bold and reckless animal.