Honey badger to undergo CAT scan at Onderstepoort
“We are worried about Badjie… when he sits on my lap, he takes my hand and places it on his head.”
The latest “exotic” animal to be treated at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital is a honey badger (Afrikaans: ratel) named Badjie.
Badjie (9), a Mohololholo resident in Hoedspruit, arrived at the hospital on Monday for various tests and a CAT (computed tomography) scan.
Moholilholo is a wildlife rehabilitation centre and sanctuary in Hoedspruit.
“We are worried about Badjie… When he sits on my lap, he takes my hand and places it on his head,” Rentia Matz, a Pretoria resident and a volunteer at Molholoholo said.
Matz said about a month ago there was a worrying incident …Badjie grabbed his head and started screaming.
“It was almost like he was getting some sort of migraine.”
She said they took Badjie to a local vet, who suspected a brain tumour.
“But we had to get a second opinion.”
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Badjie will see Dr Jacques O’Dell, who will conduct various tests, including blood tests and a CAT scan to determine what is wrong with him.
“I hope we get to diagnose him before he has to undergo an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). If he can’t determine what is wrong with Badjie, he will have to undergo the MRI.”
She describes Badjie as a very sweet, but very busy honey badger.
Matz says honey badgers are native to Southern Africa, especially in Namibia, and also common in great parts of India.
They are predators and carnivores that feed on various snakes, frogs and even small antelopes and jackals.
“Their favourite vegetable is a butternut and they love scratching out the pits and destroying the butternut”.
Matz said the honey banger’s sharp front claws and teeth make them extremely dangerous.
They are also good at digging holes.
“I am absolutely crazy about them, honey badgers are such interesting and intelligent animals,” Matz concluded.
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