Student Spots a First in UCT's Vicinity: A Honey Badger!

Photo Credit: UCT

On the hunt for honey or knowledge? A student at UCT’s Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa spotted a rare sighting in the UCT vicinity: a honey badger!

Cape Town, South Africa (07 May 2024) — In exciting news for the wildlife-curious clan, a student at the University of Cape Town’s Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa (iCWild) spotted a first in the UCT vicinity: a honey badger!

For student Benjamin Wittenberg, the sighting was something special.

“The most common animals we spot are domestic cats and porcupines, and we sometimes see caracals, cape grysbok, mongooses and genets…The arrival of the honey badger has enriched biodiversity on Table Mountain—and challenges the caracal’s status as a top predator in the area,” Benjamin shares.

While honey badgers are found across the continent, they are not typically found in cities or on the Cape Peninsula as the University explains.

In 2021, a rare albino honey badger sighting made headlines at De Hoop Nature Reserve as the first of its kind to be recorded in scientific literature in the Western Cape wild.

Last year, a honey badger on its lonesome was recorded on Table Mountain thanks to a wildlife survey by SANParks, indicating further that honey badgers are not frequent sightings in the region.

As for the ‘UCT honey badger’, the critter was discovered in the UCT vicinity as the first to be spotted in the area.

More about Honey Badgers

Honey badgers are an ‘at risk’ species like the Cape clawless otter, Cape Eagle Own and water mongoose, among others
They are predators known for ‘raiding’ bee hives and other kinds of animal dens
They have sharp teeth and claws and can twist their bodies thanks to loose skin, making them fierce opponents to many animals. In fact, even lions pay them caution!
Honey badgers are also known for being fearless and solitary creatures

The latest sighting marks an exciting development in wildlife makings its way to urban-edge settings and Cape Town’s biodiversity, but could also prove challenges for the wildlife and domestic pets should the honey badgers’ population grow.

As Professor Nicoli Nattrass shares, “citizen science” (data collected by the general public) becomes all important in the honey badger’s Cape Town chapter. Without it, small wildlife and domestic species or the honey badgers themselves, could have less than favourable outcomes.