Meet the honey badger. It eats honey and bee grubs. It eats insects too.

It also eats snakes, birds and rodents. Eggs are on the menu. So are fruit, roots and bulbs.

Honey badgers dig for food, such as insect larvae and the nests of bees. Their front feet have long, strong claws made for digging.

A honey badger can close its ears to keep dirt out while it digs. It sleeps in burrows and other hiding places, curled up in a ball.

A honey badger can look for food by day or by night. Most honey badgers live alone.

Honey badgers live in Africa and in parts of Asia. They live in many kinds of places, from rain forests to deserts.

Its thick, loose skin lets it wriggle free when something grabs it. A gland at the base of its tail makes a strong smell.

A mother usually has just one cub at a time. She raises it in a burrow, with no help from other adults. Another name for the honey badger is the ratel.

Words to know

• larvae: baby insects
• rodents: mice and rats
• bulbs: round plant parts
• burrows: hole homes
• gland: a body part