Honey Badgers: Masters Of Mayhem. Full

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it's the toughest vehicle in the South African army 20 tons of thick-skinned all-terrain fighting machine and it's named after a badger meet the rattle better known as the honey badger and in budget is a fighter he goes and he goes and he goes if I had to use one word it would be tenacious heavy claws strong jaws big teeth for such a small animal they really do pack a punch there's nothing nothing that you scared of according to the Guinness Book of Records it is the world's most fearless animal they do have big attitude but does the honey badger really deserve its ferocious tag or is the hype bigger than its bite in South Africa's Limpopo Province zoologist load of fries is on the trail of a pint-sized animal with a massive reputation I've been fascinated by these guys for a very young age from eight nine years old in Afrikaans we say surprises a lot which means as tough as a honey badger that's what I love I love that attitude know is keen to get beyond the legend and find out what the honey badger is really like for a start it isn't really a badger at all built for strength and stamina rather than speed it's more like a souped up weasel though reasonably common honey badgers are mostly nocturnal and rarely seen they're still relatively unknown to science even their special ability to sleep off snakebites and wake up unharmed remains of mystery up to a quarter of their diet is made up of venomous snakes and we don't know why the young stay with their mothers for so long nearly twice as long as true badgers but it's tales of the honey badgers sheer audacity that have become the stuff of legend there's all these myths about them humming of those like truth following a tip-off Lowe and his field assistant Becky are heading to a safari lodge where these normally elusive animals are reported to be turning up every night tucked away on the outskirts of Kruger National Park the lodge could be the perfect place for low to set up a new research project honey badgers are scavengers as well as hunters at the Safari Lodge they've learnt that there's a regular supply of leftovers at the rubbish dump according to maintenance manager Alfred the dumpers become a magnet not just for Badgers but for other animals too yesterday I saw one burger and hyena Oh was that you know yeah have you seen them fought yeah yeah what happens when they fight - come come come if you want to food hunt bitch - oh oh oh you go straight - ah it wasn't like that easy yes quick uh-huh is he driving out - God so they go underneath the lazy by the ProGuard yeah I didn't know the hydration ferret are you it might not be pretty but the rubbish dump offers low the perfect opportunity to see where honey badgers ranked in the pecking order so there's the way you dump all the rubbish things yeah it's all it'll be our booty you cannot badger as Alfred claims actually see off an animal five times its own weight from which directionally then we can come through that time that side and you see that droid yeah oh this little Charlie idea so what time you then only come in and half by five okay thank you very much offering okay Terry sure thanks No we'll be back at dusk to see for himself if the honey badger really is top dog though Badgers are tolerated at the lodge they can be a persistent problem for local farmers I'm trying to make a living out of clearance Peaks round knees is the big five but my problem is not the big five the real problem is the honey budget that's the big problem as well as raiding his pig food Badgers have attacked and even killed his dogs if you push it in a corner then he will go for you he'll go for your boss and you'll get all your balls out one time squeakers dead the week ago attached to one one night they do a lot of damage some farmers shoot the Badgers this one's lucky to be getting a second chance I know many of indicators alone-alone the farmer has called in Brian Jones a wildlife conservationist with a soft spot for honey badgers wonderful that you prepared to say the animals like this they are out there their foot off my feet okay okay Brian looks after all kinds of unwanted animals but despite its rough reputation the honey badger is his favorite he's rescued around 50 so far okay Brian thank you very much why don't you go up the badger will be set free later as far from the farmer as possible they do get dirty in their traps if we see it's quite serious we will treat them accordingly and when that's healed we let him go again hopefully they don't go back to that man was that man might not decide to start killing them Brian is heading back to base to the place that's been his home for the last 22 years set in its own 500 hectare Game Reserve mahalo Hollow is a privately run animal rehabilitation center as well as providing a temporary refuge for injured wildlife it also houses a few longer-term residents including a honey badger Stoffel and his girlfriend Amy are heading my house hippo Reimer brahmana spotted hyena leopards cheetah land I've had the whole lot but the honey badger is nothing near the honey badger the first honey badger took in more stuff he caused chaos in the house he damaged everything I mean they come and break through the window go to the kitchen not the dog biscuits over go to the French ladies back kick the fridge open good smell what's of the menu today get the frozen Baker sipping this back Anita and you don't dare stop it you just didn't do what he wants hello my neighbors Stoffel came here 20 years ago as someone else's unwanted pet and his to tame ever to be released into the wild so happy at first to look after him Brian soon discovered that the Badger was a menace to his other animals doesn't matter how big or small he tected nothing was safe from him he grabbed the Rana from underneath and wouldn't it go and the Rhino he grabbed one of my 20 Eagles you kill the circles you wipe out 30 40 guinea pigs one shot here is extremely destructive we flies it to you it's not a joke he really rips you to pieces Stoffel was becoming the pet from hell Stoffel come on my way stopall alas for Brian this was just the start of a long and challenging relationship honey badgers as their name suggests are fond of honey but the mayhem they caused trying to get it makes them a scourge to beekeepers I've spoken to some of the beekeepers in this area who've lost up to 60 hives in one night if you consider that a beehive cluster about a thousand rand and takes about two or three years to develop into a production colony you can see what the loss is is huge on the other hand it takes guts to face an angry swarm badges that get it wrong have been stung to death it's the protein-rich grubs they're after as much as the honey I've seen some hives where the badges actually got in from the side and chewed through this 22 millimeter wood 22 mil is about that thick solid pine you know it's ripped apart decimation badger won't stop at anything sadly badges that raid too often risk being poisoned guy Stubbs wants to protect honey badgers from the wrath of his fellow bee keepers by developing a cheap but effective badger proof hive don't lie he's come to the rehab center where he's keen to try out his approach on some real badgers phase one is all about watching and learning young please release the Badgers enter test Badger Stoffel and his apprentice hammy Badgers are adept at scaling trees in the wild but guy thinks they'll struggle to reach the hive if there's no bark to grip on to okay you can see he's actually just using one claw at a time and he's hooking his claw into any little crevice and hole that he can find and then he pulls his whole body up so it's showing incredible strength can you hear that panting it sounds like it's a lot of effort for him through sheer determination Stoffel eventually gets within range look at the way that he's grabbing on to that plastic and as actually ripping pieces of it off the sweet taste of success with all his footholds figured out stopple is soon back up to finish the job a few painful stings is a small price to pay one honey badger was found alive with well over 300 stings so by just having it off the ground in a tree isn't a guarantee for protecting your heart armed with valuable firsthand observations guy is now ready to go and design his badger saving badger proof hive at a game lodge near Kruger National Park zoologist lo DeFries has a ringside seat at the rubbish dump he's hoping to see for himself if the honey badger lives up to its ferocious billing there's no mistaking a honey badger it was a bold black and white coat and moves with a confident trot still I'm coming in right after done just there are the better like a skunk it's vibrant markings send a warning mess with me at your peril that was rides our plus five in bed one time and coming from wasted the two badges certainly don't appear put off by Lowe's presents pairs of badges were once thought to be couples but in fact badger pups stick with their mums for up to two years and it can be hard to tell one from the other it's a very big chance of this mother with a bub if the blob isn't mal it's actually possible that the big individual is the pump they stand for such a long time then the extra hug growth and mother the long childhood suggests the pup has a lot to learn before it can survive on its own this one is busy mastering the art of Binh reading the greedy badgers won't have the place to themselves for long and they seem to know it a porcupine is the next to pick up along with the Jackals they hang around and wait for the Badgers discarded scraps venture too close and it becomes clear who's boss even the civet a larger carnivore knows to steer clear for lo this is a rare opportunity to watch wild honey badgers an opportunity he's waited a long time for I'm noticing a big triple number of sounds and these guys are making chattering growling at each other chipping away kinda like a concert pool Symes they almost sound like jackals I don't bothered by our prison what been obsessing these animals for so many years honey badgers normally forage alone but news of the dump appears to have spread with fresh arrivals there are soon more badges than bins it's a recipe for some rowdy squabbling you betcha over at the lodge another gang of gatecrashers is piling in remote cameras reveal them making a beeline for the kitchen the masters of mayhem have arrived back at the bins things have taken a serious turn with jaws nearly twice as strong as a lion's a spotted hyena could crush a badger with a single bite when she seems have no idea that the scene is coming up towards it specking off seems to appearance missile languages the cause of the hyenas hasty retreat soon becomes suffocatingly apparent horrible one of the Badgers it seems has deployed a concealed weapon for its ban let's use this thing semis a skunk this one later pains to deter them fluid ejected from the Badgers anal pouch can be smelled from 40 meters away section make sure other water I'm not how they live themselves at the rehab center Bryan Jones were soon learning from his pet badger Stoffel that the animals reputation for bravery was no myth one desktop will be bright quickly Stoffels got in with a big line he dug underneath the Liquid Fence and went into the Lancer fighter on purpose so my staff took meat and just chucked her over to get the lines of traction on the meat meantime the honey badger wouldn't it dip settle on who gave to their private parts at the back and he was chasing his big melon around the capital hideous yeah he had his off to this big line and eventually the line return around and grab him but was the skins loose he'd swing any skin honey badger and bite the line on the face so in the end the Lions bleeding down the face honey better walk your big stuff and he won the first round hey I was scared of you in one incident in the wild honey badgers are reported to have chased seven Lions from their kill first off although fighting alone round two was a disaster he did it again but this time he didn't get off so well they pulverized him/her but it was in the hospital to North months those Stoffel survived honey badgers are not invincible despite their almost heroic courage they are sometimes mauled to death by be at after his close encounter with Badgers at the dump Lowe is keen to get deeper into their world the whole question of why pups hang around with their mothers for so long is intriguing him local tracker Enoch says he spotted a mother and baby using an old termite mound as a den less than a mile from camp it could be the breakthrough that lo needs badgers can move over 20 miles a night but if there's one badger that's likely to stay put it's a nursing mother near a regular source of food so is this the the hole where you saw the embed with the pup yeah this is the one they were knitting around on top of this time of month you can see this attracts here it shows that it tested using it loh decides to put the burro under surveillance with a bit of luck the mother and pup will give him a unique window into the normally hidden world of badger parenting after Stoffels severe mauling by the Lions Brian knew that he had to get his badger under control his solution was a brand new pen and the introduction of panic to help him work off steam far from settling down though the canoodling couple soon proved that honey badgers are not just fearless but astonishingly clever we started off with the mr. fence but it didn't work thoughtful soon devised plan for opening up the gate which has got two bolts he would get the female to go up she would go up open the first gate he'd hold the gate and say woman get up I'm pulling open you open up she goes up to the top she pulls the second one out and then he pulls it open he waits for her to get down and they scoped together the escape was no fluke considering their small size honey badgers have remarkably big brains the intelligence is just beyond anything whatever Brian did to keep him in Stoffel was hell-bent on getting out in the end and at great expense Brian had no choice but to build his own badger Alcatraz Isis totaled the days of your Skype are over buddy uh-huh that night they call me Brian Stoffels outhouse is impossible but we had trees in here and he climb up the trees another leaned over onto the wall and he was out so he cut all the branches out of the trees in here and left the trees in the middle then he dug up the rocks and he'd roll him with his back feet to the wall and klee piled him up high enough and they need to get up so we took all the rocks away this is like a game for Stoffel every time my device unplanned it was like a game played to work out how could he get over this one o'clock in the morning my wife wakes it Brian Brian someone's in the house she said I heard a window break so we freeze oh my expecting burglars and yes duffle at my bedroom door trotting to the bedroom door made him suffer mad bald and he that's it to make it bigger and he rolled it and he stands like he just got out like that people have said oh did you try Nassif trying it not at all didn't even think of he outwitted us each table with his schemes remember one day keep a lift to rake in Stoffels enclosure he scratched himself largeness our days thinking computer's working it take the rake put these back put against a wall climb mouthing off your gun Stoffel I mean you won't believe these stories you think it's access products that are social on the outskirts of Kruger National Park Lowe has a Badgers den under surveillance the photos from the first night however reveal an unexpected visitor leopard on the camera trap a 22 626 it's seen minutes after I place the trap out it's not a good sign leopards are one of the very few animals known to kill honey badgers unfortunately no honey badgers on these shots which is kind of strange I saw the tracks with my own eyes you knock see those tracks were relatively fresh either this was never a demon the honey badger just kind of came through or the mother felt threatened by the presence of the leopard there and decided to move the puck perhaps the average wild honey badger is smart enough to know its limits the mothers vanishing act leaves low back at square one over at the rehab center beekeeper guy Stubbs is finally ready to pit his wits against Stoffel and hammy with what he hopes is a badger proof hide stand the important thing is to make sure that you leave nothing lying around that Stoffel can use as a tool to tag onto the stem with room for up to 10 hives guys raised metal cage is quick to assemble if it works it'll help keep the peace between beekeepers and badges ok I think everything's ready now young why'd you release the badges please I feel that we've got a good chance I don't think they can get up here there's still trying look at that looks a bit like a sloth he's feeling for a little hole or a grip like you did with the tree but he's not finding one they're too slippery this is how we stopped him getting in cami has been watching from the sidelines and with Stoffel flagging she moves in and you see and you see her clothes she seems to be getting a grip oh this is terrible no oh no man and there she's got it she's got on to the hive can you believe it oh she's actually pushed her way through and got to the honey that way that's her technique now she's pushing the hives all over the place now she's blocked my view yeah well this is unfortunately not even Stoffel even warm buzzy it's round one to hammy and back to the drawing board for guy I've tried everything I've got a lot of respect for honey badgers out in the bush another day is drawing to a close and the night shift is beginning to stir for three weeks no and his field assistant Becky have been searching for badgers beyond the camp without success but they're about to get lucky there's something with a call where is it I think you bet the vehicle they've staked out a spot with fresh signs of badger activity and it's paid off to Badgers a mother and a large male pup have returned to dig up more food most likely they're after beetle grubs and scorpions have a credible sense of smell you smell stuff so deep underground then others close I can dig up anything look at this on terraces government does the two Badgers are soon joined by a third it's a huge male and he's not interested in dinner much bigger this one he seems to sense that the female is ready to meet again after nearly two years of single parenting when a mother starts to entertain suitors it's the cue for her pop to move on and strike out on its own this is potentially a big night for him for Lo and Becky it's a rare and unexpected chance to observe courtship honeybadger style oh it's actually drag Iike huh you're he's fighting hard he looks painful they are in a hole yes I've loved your badge alumnus it's incredible that idea is so classic all are you just okay breathing slightly taking the hint perhaps the younger male moves off to feed elsewhere leaving the lovers to themselves but the newly independent badger could hardly have picked a worse night to go solo he's dangerously isolated and his mother is too wracked up to notice that the old enemy is back this time the hyenas have turned up in force and the young male is out in the open whatever food the Badgers have sniffed out the hyenas now want to claim for themselves retreat would seem the sensible option here incredibly though the young male stands his ground as if daring the hyena to attack meanwhile the big male has at last cotton Don and immediately squares up for a fight mother seems happy to let the boys out not backing off the four hyenas are determined to muscle in but the outnumbered badgers are equally determined to force them back if honey badgers are just bluffers then they're the bravest act in the African bush some would say they're also the smartest having been outwitted by Stoffel countless times Brian isn't taking any more chances if an eight thousand volt electric fence doesn't stop the little mastermind he doesn't know what will it's for everyone's benefit including Bryan's I've tried to make peace with him but he's just what's a killed me and if he is my voice he Styles up ready for attack I'll a store full hello my baby yes my buddy Oh Stoffel Thank You store fool don't you forgive me yeah so for you listen a woman you just don't forget as Stoffel finally been contained or has Brian nearly set the stage for an even more ingenious escape aside from looking after Stoffel the business of saving wild Badgers is keeping Brian as busy as ever three more animals trapped by farmers have now been patched up and are ready for release Brian can only hope that the Badgers don't go and create havoc for someone else he's looking to see if we following him and he got the cheek to growl on the way lucky lucky thing one gone two more to launch Brian knows that these badges won't be the last he saves but he'll keep doing whatever it takes to give these relentless little warriors a chance the honey badger to me he's so brave and so courageous and so determined that you can't help but love him he's really gonna play some heart after a month of the safari lodge trying to track honey badgers in the wild though is stumped he seen for himself that the honey badgers reputation for courage and ferocity isn't just hype it is a scientist he still has so many questions he wants to answer it's actually quite frustrating in the moment I see these animals literally every single night they come in cause chaos inside camp that seems morning hits they just disappear their fearlessness it seems is backed up by a more subtle quality a quality that enables it to get just what it wants and then vanish perhaps intelligence is what really gives the honey badger its edge its brain might even be bigger than its bite honey badgers may have been regular visitors of the Safari Lodge but filming them was far from straightforward for the crew alarm bells should have rung when they were asked to pick up a new fridge on their way in alas not all of the delicate equipment being unloaded will be going home in one piece having dropped off the fridge cameraman Robin Cox and assistant producer will Benson gets straight to work rigging cameras and infrared lights so I put one GoPro here looking the gates do you think the the 30 degree round the corner needs some frost ahead yeah okay the outdoor kitchen is frequently ransacked by Badgers maintenance manager Alfred points out where the thieves have been breaking in check that's cool man no I may look like I've been cut with a saw so that's claws must be pretty sharp just literally sliced do you like the honey badger hey anybody's a flavor he's a strong 110 is a cleaver bridge camp which hopefully will capture the Badgers as they break in and if you think he's gonna damage the fridge and if it is a terrible any modesty damage their fridge so this GoPros gonna look at the game this one gives us hot main view of the room with lights plugged in and camera set there's just one last piece of kit to put in place so one of these well I think really you're to wear this cuz here we're only kids and I have my legs are shorter than yours yours definitely is it's a shorter reach for a honey badger to take a swipe I'm wore at least in school Robin is left on his own to wait quietly give recent form is any guide it won't be long before the Badgers are in the kitchen JT I can the surprise raid on the lounge leaves Robin sidelined and the rest of the crew scrambling to film what they can with the spare camera it will then catch the light the team have been outflanked and things are about to get worse I've had a time lapse camera running out of the embers of the fire at the boma down there they decided to just choose straight through the wire sheared straight off adding insult to injury one of the Badgers films itself vandalizing the spare camera have the film crew perhaps bitten off more than they can chew in the morning Robin and the camp staff review the footage from the lounge ah sure you see that is for a cameraman it doesn't make happy viewing came and found the camera yeah microphone you dig you pretty big one severed camera cable and a mangled microphone cover but on the plus side the team has its first close-up of a wild honey badger night 2 and the team are staking out the rubbish dump there are plenty of leftovers here to tempt the Badgers just gonna sit tight give us what we can't just hope they're coming before he knows it Robin has badgers in his sights and he's finally rolling on some action but the Badgers don't seem to like being in the spotlight Oh imagine just not like having a whale of a time at our expense as soon as the hooligans clear off Robin and will venture out to assess the damage wise come out is it working no it's dead all right school tonight yeah it's been a rough night for the light and there's more bad news to come I've just found one of our infrared GoPros in pieces strewn over about okay five metres given a right going over I'm a seriously tough plastic this I don't think that's gonna work again tooths gone right in there and another one at the top number two GoPro down it'll be days before Robin gets the spare parts he needs to fix the lights they just seem to be acting record gear at the moment and it looks like we'll might need a sewing kit they've chewed massive great hole in the side of our filming height I think honey badgers just like destroying stuff to add to the crews problems fifteen noisy tourists are now descending on the lodge it's been hard enough trying to film badgers when it's quiet and on night 3 hopes that the visitors might turn in early are going up in smoke it's is coming up with 10 o'clock now there's still quite a lot of activity around young guests are still up and drinks and talking around the fire there's no scientist peering into bed but ignoring all the noise the Badgers are once again going to teach the film crew a lesson nevermind the party there's a pork chop to be pinched in plain sight of the guests the brazen Badgers help themselves and leave the film crew wondering if their whole tiptoeing approach has been utterly pointless these guys really don't care they don't mind if we're talking making a lot of noise banging about these guys really are bothered for once the Badgers lay off the cameras and stick to the business of looting but tonight they're not just nicking food they're also stealing a few hearts it's cute I love the homemade butter

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Channel: Phu Dao

Views: 1,520,661

Rating: 4.8080802 out of 5

Keywords: Honey Badger (Organism Classification), Honey (Breakfast Cereal Flavor), Badger (Animal)