honey badger (Gadabhalu), a rare animal, died in village Sukhuapada in Jajpur

KENDRAPADA: A baby honey badger (Gadabhalu), a rare animal, died in village Sukhuapada in Jajpur district on Monday afternoon.
"After getting news about the injured honey badger, we rescued it and sent it to a local veterinary hospital at Badachana. But the baby honey badger could not be saved. The animal had injuries on its head after some villagers had thrashed it," said Sarat Chandra Sahoo, the forest officer of Bairi.

The honey badger (Mellivora capensis), also known as the ratel, is a species of Southwest Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent. Despite its name, it does not resemble other animals of the badger species, instead, it bears anatomical similarities to weasels. It is classed as 'Least Concern' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) owing to its extensive range and general environmental adaptations. It is primarily a carnivorous species and has few natural predators because of its thick skin and ferocious defensive abilities, said Sudhanshu Parida, an environmentalist and the secretary of the district unit of Peoples for Animal.