Chimp & See Talk

Snare or collar?

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator

    Does any scientist know if some honey-badgers wear collars for location-tracking or could it be a snare??
    Thanks!!

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  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator

    This post seemed to get lost in space but I still would like to know what the honey-badger is doing. Thanks!

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  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    Hi - my resident honey badger expert is away until November but then I'll get her on it 😃

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  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator

    great, thanks Mimi! 😃

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  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    (please feel free to remind me (again) about it 😉 )

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  • vittoriaestienne by vittoriaestienne scientist, moderator

    Hi! and sorry for late reply 😃

    About the thing around its neck, it doesn't seem to me a radio collar. It looks to me more like a string, so possibly a snare...
    About the behavior, I don't think the scratching is necessarily associated to the string around the neck: I have seen many other camera-trap video clips where honey badgers (without anything attached to them) scratch themselves in the same way. Another explanation could be parasites, for example.

    I also saw often that they rub themselves on the ground like it happens in this video. Honey badgers are known to use scent marking to regulate their spatial and social organization, but they seem to do so chiefly by means of urine, feces, and secretion from anal glands. None of such marking behavior appear to happen in this video, to me. So maybe rubbing themselves on the ground could be a way to scratch themselves as well..

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  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    Thanks @vittoriaestienne ! 😄

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  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator

    Very interesting, thank you Vittoria!

    Although it might be a snare I'm glad it doesn't seem to be too much affected by it. 😃

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