As of November 2026, no one knows how many honey badgers there are. They are active at night, live alone and have large home ranges, so they are hard to count. Researchers estimated a density of about 3 adults per 100 square kilometers in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in South Africa. In Sariska Tiger Reserve in India the estimate is about 5.5 to 6.4 individuals per 100 square kilometers.

Camera traps in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique showed that honey badgers, civets, genets and marsh mongooses were all mostly active between sunset and sunrise. The honey badgers had a small spike of activity around sunrise.

As of November 2026, the Red List says the honey badger's population is declining, yet the species stays Least Concern. The reasons given are its broad range and that it is not a dietary specialist. Zoo scientists add that local declines are not yet enough for a higher threat category. The assessment that zoos and PBS cite is from Do Linh San and others in 2016, although a zoo fact sheet dates it 2015.

As of November 2026, CITES lists the honey badger in Appendix III. In India it is under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, Schedule I, which gives it absolute protection. Some countries in Middle Asia and the Mediterranean region also protect it in law.

In the southern Kalahari, large snakes made up 58 percent of the honey badger diet in the hot-wet season, from January to April. Small mammals made up 80 percent from September to December, when small mammals were most plentiful. The study also found that male and female honey badgers hunted equally well, even though males are bigger. Their foraging patterns and success were remarkably comparable.

To reach food in high places, honey badgers in India have been observed moving and stacking rocks, a field guide reports.

A zoo fact sheet says honey badgers have some resistance to snake venom, as do some other mustelids. Animal Diversity Web adds that the exact mechanism had not been demonstrated in honey badgers, though lab tests in 2021 later tested one change.

In Tanzania, as of March 2026, beekeepers hang concrete hives from tree branches to keep honey badgers away. Beekeepers there often report the honey badger as a significant predator of hives.

Words to know

• density: animals per area
• foraging: food-hunting
• specialist: one-food eater
• mustelids: weasel-family animals
• mechanism: how it works