Honey badger Facts for Kids
Mellivora capensis · mel-ih-VOR-uh kap-EN-sis
A short, strong animal from Africa and Asia that eats eggs, snakes and more.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ 18 to 26 lb8 to 12 kg1
- 📏 24 to 28 in60 to 70 cm1 long
- 🎂 7 to 8 years7 to 8 years1
- 🍽️ plants and animals
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
A honey badger is a low, sturdy animal with a pale back and a dark body. It lives in Africa and in parts of Asia. It eats eggs, snakes, frogs and small rodents.
Honey badgers live in many kinds of places: forests, grassland, rocky hills and deserts. A male can walk a long way each day looking for food. They eat eggs, small rodents, snakes, birds and frogs.
Honey badgers live across most of Africa south of the Sahara and on the Arabian Peninsula. They do well in many kinds of places, from forests and grassland to rocky hills and deserts, and from the seashore up into high mountains. They mostly eat meat: eggs, small rodents, snakes, birds and frogs. A male can walk a long way in one day while looking for food. In the wild, a honey badger lives for several years.
How big is a honey badger?
Honey badger in numbers
| Length | 24 to 28 in60 to 70 cm1head and body, not the tail |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 18 to 26 lb8 to 12 kg1 |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 7 to 8 years7 to 8 years1in the wild |
| What it eats | eggs, small rodents, snakes, birds and frogs |
| Where it lives | forests, grassland, rocky hills and deserts across most of Africa south of the Sahara and on the Arabian Peninsula |
| What kind | Mammals |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)2 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- A honey badger lives in forests, grassland and deserts.
- A male can walk a long way in one day looking for food.
- It eats eggs, small rodents, snakes, birds and frogs.
Compare the honey badger
Friends and neighbours
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Lion
MeerkatThree questions
Books about the honey badger, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the honey badger for free.
For teachers
Use this animal in class: its facts are on this page, and the cards print from it.
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Mellivora capensis (honey badger), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, Honey badger (Q173128), checked 30 October 2026.