Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 September 2024 | 16(9): 25931–25934

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9209.16.9.25931-25934

#9209 | Received 13 June 2024 | Final received 04 September 2024 | Finally accepted 19 September 2024

 

 

Rare Honey Badger Mellivora capensis (Schreber, 1776) sighted in Tarai East Forest Division, Haldwani, Uttarakhand, India

 

Prashant Kumar 1, Bhaskar C. Joshi 2, Anand Singh Bisht 3 & Himanshu Bagri 4

 

1 Western Circle, Haldwani, Uttarakhand Forest Department, Aranya Bhawan, Rampur Road, Haldwani, Nainital, Uttarakhand 263139, India.

2,3,4 Tarai East Forest Division, Haldwani, Uttarakhand Forest Department, Sheesambagh Forest Compound, Haldwani, Uttarakhand 263139, India.

1prashantkumar9956@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2bhaskar20.alm@gmail.com, 3bishtanand002@gmail.com, 4dfote@rediffmail.com

 

 

Editor: Murali Krishna Chatakonda, Amity University, Noida, India.             Date of publication: 26 September 2024 (online & print)

 

Citation: Kumar, P., B.C. Joshi, A.S. Bisht & H. Bagri (2024). Rare Honey Badger Mellivora capensis (Schreber, 1776) sighted in Tarai East Forest Division, Haldwani, Uttarakhand, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 16(9): 25931–25934. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9209.16.9.25931-25934

  

Copyright: © Kumar et al. 2024. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: Tarai East Forest Division, Uttarakhand Forest Department.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Mr. Sandeep Kumar IFS, ex-DFO Tarai East Forest Division for necessary permission and logistical support. We are also thankful to Mr. Himanshu Bagri IFS, present DFO Tarai East Forest Division for encouragement to publish this research. We thank to Mrs. Sanchita Verma, SDO, R.S. Manral-RO-Surai, R.D. Verma & Baburam Yadav – forester, Mukesh, Sukhvindar & Ravindra – forest guard. We are thankful to field staff of Surai Range, Tarai East Forest Division-Uttarakhand Forest Department for kind cooperation and accommodation in remote locations.

 

 

Abstract: The presence of Honey Badger Mellivora capensis (Schreber, 1776) is widely distributed but in-depth of ecological understanding this species is still lacking from Asian portion of its global range. The species is listed in Scheduled-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 providing it with the highest level of protection as this is very rare. The current note presents, the first known camera-trap records of this species in Tarai East Forest Division (TEFD), Uttarakhand, India. During the survey exercise, a total 35 camera traps were randomly installed in different habitats (e.g. Natural Sal forest patch, Mixed forests, Sharda River-Canal) in Surai range of the division. As resulted, two images of Honey Badger were captured from the Sharda River bank–Canal habitat of Bagha-I beat, of Surai range. The camera trap study suggests that Honey Badger is rarely sighted in Tarai east sal forest.  For protection and management of this species, further need to generate more information and in-depth understanding of their ecological and of population status in around forest habitat of the division.

 

Keywords: Camera trap, conservation, distribution, GPS, sal forest, Terai Arc Landscape.

 

 

The Honey Badger Mellivora capensis (Schreber, 1776), also called Ratel, is a mammal widely distributed in Africa (Begg et al. 2016), southwestern Asia, and in the Indian subcontinent. Furthermore, there is no explicit information about the present population of the Honey Badger in Uttarakhand (Kumar et al. 2022). Thus, conservation strategies are difficult to implement, as information on their population status in India is not well documented and their behavioural patterns and social structure are not studied systematically or understood. Though IUCN Red List mentions it under the ‘Least Concern’ category, it is a very rare species and is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (P) Act 1972.

The Honey Badger is classified under the Mustelidae family, subfamily Mellivorinae. Each paw has five toes, with the hind legs having shorter claws than the forelegs; this assists them with digging and climbing. They stand approximately 25–30 cm high at the shoulder; their skin is loose and tough; this allows the animal to twist and work its way free from either an attacker or from being stuck in a tight space, whilst also providing protection from bites inflicted by other carnivores.  They are solitary animals, but a female and her cub can be seen foraging together, and they can hunt in pairs during the mating season (Begg et al. 2005). It lives in a variety of biomes, including mountains, woods, and deserts, and spreads widely throughout South Africa, except the northwestern coastal regions. A study in South Africa suggests that the Honey Badgers prefer Eucalyptus plantations to natural habitat types (Kheswa et al. 2018, Allen et al. 2018). Honey Badgers were also reported by researchers in the coastal area of Chilika lagoon, Odisha during a fishing cat survey of the human-dominated landscape (Adhya & Dey 2022). The following studies were reported; it’s sightings in different regions of India (Table.1).  

A camera trap survey focused on Striped Hyena done in Central Tarai Landscape Nepal documents Honey Badger presence in Sal-dominated Forest (Adhikari et al. 2022). Similarly, a survey done in Bennerghatta National Park, Karnataka, reported the presence of Honey Badger images through camera trapping (Krishnan et al. & 2016). A camera trap survey was conducted to ascertain the presence of tigers and captured the photo of Honey Badger in an opportunistic manner in Simlipal Tiger Reserve (Mishra & Bisht 2023). Here we document the sightings of the Honey Badger from Tarai East forest Division of Uttarakhand.

 

Study Area

Tarai East Forest Division is a part of the vast Terai Arc Landscape (28 ̊53’24’’–31 ̊27’50’’N and 77 ̊34’27”–81 ̊02’22” E) and comprises an area of 82,429.0 ha of Terai and Bhabar tracts between the Gola and Sharada rivers (Figure 1). In the Tarai East Forest Division, the Sal Forest is covering a total of 23,080.12 ha (28%) area of the division. It also connects the Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary with the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve through the Kilpura-Khatima-Surai corridor. The area is home to very important wildlife species like elephants, tigers, leopards, bears, hyenas, crocodiles etc. Increasing population and dependency on forests, encroachment, overgrazing, poaching etc. are some of the challenges that threaten wildlife and its habitat. The division has covered a total of nine ranges: Kilpura, Khatima, Surai, Gaula, Ransali, Dauli, Barakoli, Kishanpur, and Jaulashal. In this division, Surai range is well known for the presence of ‘Royal Bengal Tiger’ and a total of 53 individual were reported in Tarai East Forest Division after tiger census (AITE-2022; Qureshi et al. 2023).

 

Results And Discussion

As a routine practice under tiger population monitoring, the researchers and staff of the forest department checked the camera trap on 12 January 2024 in which two photos of the camera trap were observed (Image 1 & 2) in Bagha I beat, Surai Range, clicked at 1834 h & 1837 h on 07 January 2024 in the deployed camera trap 13 (CAM 13) which looked like a civet. After matching, the species was identified as a Honey Badger through its morphological characters such as larger size of the skull and mantle color (Menon & Daniel 2003). This is the first photographic evidence of Honey Badger presence in Tarai East Forest Division. This forest division is characterized by Moist Tarai Sal Shorea robusta forest (3C/C2C) (Champion & Seth 1968), which provides a rich habitat for Honey Badgers. The age could not be ascertained, but the sex of the Honey Badger was male as the reproductive organ (penis) is clearly visible in the recorded image. The Piliphit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and the Sharda canal of the Indo-Nepal border territories encompass the eastern boundary of Tarai East Forest Division (TEFD), providing possible habitat for the Honey Badger. The Honey Badger sightings and movements have been documented numerous times in the Piliphit Tiger Reserve (PTR) area; being a border area (PTR & TEFD), the Honey Badger’s frequent travels have been seen. Camera traps detected its movement for the first time on 07 January 2024, in the TEFD’s Surai range. Therefore, it is highly vital to safeguard and conserve their habitats in the area.

 

Table 1. Review of sightings of Honey Badger in India.

 

Location

State

Year of study

Reference

1

Bannerghatta NP

Karnataka

2015

Krishnan et al. (2016)

2

Chilika Lagoon

Odisha

2019

Adhya & Dey (2022)

3

Northern Eastern Ghats

Andhra Pradesh

2019

Aditya et al. (2020)

4

Tadoba-Andhari TR

Maharashtra

2016

Chatterjee et al. (2020)

5

Similipal TR

Odisha

2016

Mishra & Bisht (2023)

6

Cauvery WS

Karnataka

2014

Gubbi et al. (2014)

7

Sariska TR

Rajasthan

2009

Gupta et al. (2012)

 

 

For figure & images - - click here for full PDF

 

 

References

 

Adhikari, D., D. Dahal, T. Pun, S. Basnet, S. Dahal & S. Thapa (2022). Record of Honey Badger from Central Terai, Nepal. Species 23(71): 69–73.

Adhya, T. & P. Dey (2022). A coastal population of Honey Badger Mellivora capensis at Chilika Lagoon in the Indian east coast. Journal of Threatened Taxa 14(10): 22026–22028. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8067.14.10.22026-22028

Aditya, V., Y. Pasul & G. Thyagarajan (2020). On the occurrence of Honey Badger Mellivora capensis (Mammalia: Carnivora: Mustelidae) in the northern Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(5):  15661–15663. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5162.12.5.15661-15663

Allen, M.L., B. Peterson & M. Krofel (2018). No respect for apex carnivores: distribution and activity patterns of honey badgers in the Serengeti. Mammalian Biology 89: 90–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2018.01.001

Begg, C.M., K.S. Begg, J.T. Du Toit & M.G.L. Mills (2005). Spatial organization of the Honey Badger Mellivora capensis in the southern Kalahari: home-range size and movement patterns. Journal of Zoology 265(1): 23–35. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0952836904005989

Begg, C.M., K.S. Begg, R.J. Power, D. van der Merwe, G. Camacho, C. Cowell & E.D.L. San (2016). A conservation assessment of Mellivora capensis, pp. 1–10. In: Child, M.F., L. Roxburgh, E.D.L. San, D. Raimondo & H.T. Davies-Mostert (eds.). The Red List of Mammals of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. South African National Biodiversity Institute and Endangered Wildlife Trust, South Africa, xi + 48 pp.

Champion, H.G. & S.K. Seth (1968). A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India. Manager of Publications, Delhi, 404 pp.

Chatterjee, N., P. Nigam & B. Habib (2020). Population estimate, habitat-use and activity patterns of the Honey Badger in a dry-deciduous forest of central India. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8: 585256. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.585256

Gubbi, S., V. Reddy, H. Nagashettihalli, R. Bhat & M.D. Madhusudan (2014). Photographic records of the Ratel Mellivora capensis from the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Small Carnivore Conservation 50: 42–44.

Gupta, S., K. Mondal, K. Sankar & Q. Qureshi (2012). Abundance and habitat suitability model for Ratel (Mellivora capensis) in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Western India. Wildlife Biology in Practice 8(1): 13–22.

Kheswa, E.Z., T. Ramesh, R. Kalle & C.T. Downs (2018). Habitat use by honey badgers and the influence of predators in iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa. Mammalian Biology 90: 22–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2018.01.009

Krishnan, A., S. Panwar, A. Gayathri, S. Phalke & D.A. Venkateshaiah (2016). A badger in Bannerghatta: an opportunistic record of the Ratel Mellivora capensis (Schreber, 1776) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Mustelidae) from Karnataka, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(5): 8820–8823. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2587.8.5.8820-8823

Kumar, A., G. Sharma & I.A. Khan (2022). An updated checklist of Mammals of Uttarakhand, India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 122(1): 01–16.

Menon, V. & J.C. Daniel (2003). Field Guide to Indian Mammals. Dorling Kindersley, India in association with Penguin Book, India, 200 pp.

Mishra, S. & H. Bisht (2023). Distribution of Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis) in Similipal Tiger Reserve, Odisha, India. E-planet 21(1): 56–59.

Qureshi, Q., Y.V. Jhala, S.P. Yadav & A. Mallick (2023). Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India, 2022. National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India, New Delhi, and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.