Honey Badgers
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Refer to the text to check your answers when appropriate.
What's
fiercer than a lion but smaller than a beagle? The honey badger, one of the
toughest mammals in Africa and western Asia. Honey badgers stand less than a
foot high. They are only a couple feet long. They weigh just over 20 pounds.
Yet they have a reputation for toughness that is far greater than their size.
Some honey badgers will chase away lions and take their kills. I guess that
goes to show you that size isn't the only thing that matters in a fight.
So
what makes the honey badger so tough? They have speed, stamina, and agility,
but so do many animals. They aren't stronger than lions, so how do they stop
them? The thing that sets the honey badger apart is their skin. Their
skin is thick and tough. Arrows, spears, and bites from other animals can
rarely pierce it. Small bullets can't even penetrate it. Not only is their
skin thick and tough, it is also loose. This allows them to twist and turn to
attack while another animal is gripping them. The only safe grip one can get
on a honey badger is on the back of their necks.
Honey
badgers have long, sharp claws. These claws are good for attacking and even
better for digging. Honey badgers are some of nature's most skilled diggers.
They can dig a nine-foot tunnel into hard ground in about 10 minutes. They
love to catch a meal by digging up the burrows of frogs, rodents, and
cobras. They also use their digging skills to create their homes. They live
in small chambers in the ground and defend them fiercely. They will attack
horses, cows, and even water buffalo if they are foolish enough to poke
around a honey badger's den. |
You
don't get a reputation like the honey badger by running from danger. The
honey badger is fearless and a tireless fighter. They will attack any
creature that threatens them, man included. Because of the honey badger's
reputation, most predators avoid them. Some animals use the honey badger's
rep to their advantage. Adult cheetahs have spotted coats, but their kittens
have silver manes and look like honey badgers. Some scientists believe that
their coloring tricks predators into avoiding them. Wouldn't you walk the
other way if you saw a honey badger?
You
might be wondering: "If honey badgers are so tough, how did they get a
name that makes them sound like a piece of candy?" The answer makes
sense. Since honey badgers have such thick skin, bee stings rarely harm them.
So honey badgers love to raid beehives. I can't blame them. Who doesn't like
free honey? Honey badgers chase after honey aggressively. So much so that
beekeepers in Africa have to use electric fencing to hold them back. There's
nothing sweet about that.
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