Ratel

Description

It is small a carnivorous semi-protected from the family of the Mustélidés being approximately 75 cm long and 30 cm with the garrot at the adulthood and which with the reputation to be a nasty piece of work. The adult and the young person are black on the belly, the legs, the Queue and the lower part of the head to the eyes. He is white on cranium, of the face until the top of the neck, and he is white-gray on all the back. The ratel has claws of approximately 4 cm length at the adulthood. The adult male weighs approximately 12 kg, but the female is less heavy: it does not exceed 6 kg. Its longevity in a wild state is not known, but it can live up to 26 years in captivity.

Habitat

It occupies of the varied habitats, as well desert or semi-desert (steppes) that various types of savannas and raised zones, including the forest galleries in semi-desert zones. It is mainly terrestrial but, fond of delicacies of honey, it can also climb with the trees to reach the wild hives. The adult male roves on a territory of 545 km ² or more and can easily traverse 10 km in one hour. The female has a smaller territory (approximately 80 km ²) but when she seeks her food or raises her small she can have a territory which covers 140 km ².

Distribution

It is found north of India to the Arabic peninsula and in all the sub-Saharan Africa except with Madagascar. Its geographical distribution and its habitats are superimposed perfectly on those of its food associate, the indicating bird , of some species that it is (see below “Alimentation”).

Immunization

The ratels manage to support the punctures of Venin the S most dangerous as that of the running up vipers whose venom is mortal for the man, of the cobras of the Cape or of the scorpions. But the scientists still do not manage to include/understand by which physiological process their body is able to be protected and to resist.

Behavior

In arid zone, the ratel, for " refroidir" , lengthens on the back exposing its belly to the light breeze of the Désert and sprinkles Sable when its internal temperature is higher than that of sand.

When it raises its small (there is only one young person per range), the female changes all the three to five days of den by carrying its kid to escape the predatory ones. When it is able to only manage (at a little more than one year), the young person ratel will live his own den and will definitively leave his mother who, once only, will change each day of burrow consequently.

Strange thing, the ratel with the capacity to run behind, made single in the mammals

Behavior in captivity

If the ratel is captured the very first days of its birth, when it still has the closed eyes, it can, following the example majority of the carnivores, to easily rise in captivity and, the such otter (other Mustélidé), it can become one then amusing playmate, even for the children. It will preserve nevertheless its character nasty piece of work by the fact that it does not cease a grogner, even while playing and of the bites are always to fear when it is irritated too much.

Food

Following the example badger eurasiatic ( Meles mix ), the ratel is omnivorous. In addition to the reptiles like the snakes the, even most dangerous, which are mets of choice for him (none of their hiding-places escapes to him), the three-quarters of its preys are caught under ground: termites, scorpions and worm of grounds, which it easily unearths thanks to its long claws of 4 cm. What does not prevent it from attacking preys of its size such as pig-épics or hares, and even much larger than him, gnous or antelopes. He will not hesitate to fight with a Lion, a Hyène or a Guépard to defend its prey because it is a nasty piece of work, even if the large carnivores commes the lions and the leopards do not obstruct themselves to eat it. One of its preferred mets is honey (from where its name, " Mellivora " meaning " eater of miel") and, for this reason, it is advisable to announce one of the most remarkable cases of Mutualisme. Indeed, the ratel joins the indicating , a bird (order of the Piciformes, family of the Indicatoridés) which sings in a specific and repetitive way to carry out this carnivore, while fluttering low in front of him, with a honeycomb. The ratel thus crammed will open, by means of its robust claws, the wild hive of which he will eat the majority of honey, leaving with the bird the larvae and the wax which this last could not have had without this suitable help.

To be hydrated, the ratel can also eat tsamas, a certain variety of melon filled to water 99%.

Protection

The ratel is protected in certain countries as in Israel or in India but in others, the such Niger, its existence seems often threatened. But with the Morocco and in South Africa, it is likely to be included soon in the category of the species which survival is not assured any more.

The female has one small by range and, although it is occupied some more than one year, half of small do not reach the adulthood: they succumb either to predatory, or with the lack of food. What explains the brittleness of the species.

The ratel figure already in the red List of the UICN, in the category minor Concern.

Notes and references

External bonds

Sources

National Geographic Magazine N°60
Jean Dorst and Pierre Dandelot, Guide of the mammals of Africa , Delachaux and Niestlé, 1971

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