It was just after sunset during a safari in the Kruger National Park when we came across one of the rarest sightings I have ever seen. We noticed some movement in the long grass on a dry riverbank when suddenly, a honey badger came charging down the bank and into the dry riverbed. We quickly realized that here were actually another two honey badgers more down the riverbed. The lone badger was making his way straight to the other two. In general, the honey badger is one of the most elusive and hardest to find mammals in the African wild. Just getting to see one honey badger in the wild during safari is a massive highlight. Finding three honey badgers together, locked in a fierce battle was just priceless and never seen before by any of us.
The honey badger has a well-developed reputation for its ferocity and fearlessness, a small animal with a temperament of a large one. These animals are known not to stand back for any snake or any other large predators such as lions. Having such ferocious and tenacious attitudes, I realized that when honey badgers turn on each other, things can only become seriously hectic and aggressive. And so, it did. We could not establish why the three badgers starting fighting in the first place but it was clear that two of the honey badgers was seriously upset with the third individual. This fight was right through a two on one situation. The one honey badger was grabbing and biting his opponent on the head and ears while the other badger was targeting the rest of the body, the tail and rear end. The honey badger on the receiving end must have done something seriously wrong. The other two badgers did not hold back in their aggression and continued beating down their opponent. During this whole time, we could clearly hear the strange squeaking sounds uttered by the three badgers, a sound we have never heard before. After some time of continuous biting and fighting, I honestly thought that the two attacking honey badgers were going to kill the third one, before it amazingly managed to twist and roll out of their grip with one desperate move. Once out of their grip, the honey badger fled like lightning with the other two, clearly not finished yet, in hot pursuit. The three badgers quickly disappeared into the long grass, leaving us with our mouths hanging open in disbelieve.