A honey badger cub was born in the Dvur Kralove zoo in late June, marking the zoo’s fourth successful breeding of the species in its history, and the only such birth in a zoo worldwide over the past 12 months, according to the ZIMS global database. The zoo announced the birth yesterday.
Breeding honey badgers is challenging; according to the ZIMS database, there are currently only around 60 honey badgers living in the world’s zoos.
The Dvur Kralove zoo acquired a breeding pair of honey badgers from the United Kingdom in 2020. Previous cubs were born in 2020, 2022 and 2024. The zookeepers do not yet know the sex of the new cub.
According to the park’s keepers, honey badger breeding in captivity is rare, and raising them is not easy. “The honey badger is a headstrong and tenacious animal that needs to be constantly entertained and provided with new stimuli. Despite this, it often figures out how to escape even from the most secure enclosures,” the zoo stated.
Honey badgers live throughout Africa and in south-west Asia. They are not currently in immediate danger of extinction in the wild, but their numbers are declining rapidly in many regions. They feed on small vertebrates and also enjoy eating tubers and honey. In the wild, honey badgers gain access to the underground nests of wild bees thanks to their great strength and powerful claws. Because of their tenacity and extremely powerful bite, even lions fear honey badgers. Despite their stocky build, honey badgers are excellent climbers.
