All language subtitles for Honey Badgers Masters of Mayhem 720p HDTV x264 AAC PBS Nature 2014 EN SUB

NARRATOR:Out on the African
Plains, even the king of

beasts makes way for one
relentless little warrior.

Meet the Savanna's true tough guy,
the Honey Badger.

Know to be absolutely
fearless.

Honey Badgers never give
up, never give in.

The Honey Badger to me, is
so brave, and so courageous,

and so determined that you
can't help but love him.

But is simply impossible to live with.

The first honey
badger I took in was

tough, he caused
chaos in the house.

I mean he would come and brake
in through the window, go to the

kitchen, kick the fridge open,
and you don't dare stop him.

And trying to follow
honey badgers

out in the bush,
isn't any easier.

It's actually quite
frustrating, I see these

animals literally
every single night.

They come in and cause chaos inside camp.

As soon as moring hits,
they just disappear.

But instead of courage or
ferocity, their sharpest weapon,

might just be one of the
best brains in all the wild.

Stoffel!

NARRATOR: In South Africa's
Limpopo Province,

zoologist Low de Vries
is on the trail

of a pint-sized animal
with a massive reputation.

LOW: I've been fascinated

by these guys
from a very young age,

from eight, nine years old.

In Afrikaans, we say,
"Su teis as a ratel,"

which means, "As tough as
a honey badger."

That's what I love --
I love that attitude.

Low is keen
to get beyond the legend

and find out what
the honey badger is really like.

For a start,

it isn't really
a badger at all.

It's a souped-up weasel,
built for strength and stamina.

Though reasonably common,

honey badgers
are mostly nocturnal

and rarely seen.

They're still relatively
unknown to science.

Even their special ability

to sleep off snake bites
and wake up unharmed

remains a mystery.

Up to a quarter of
their diet

is made up of
venomous snakes.

Nor do we know why

thyoung stay with their
mothers for so long --

nearly twice as long
as true badgers.

But it's tales of the
honey badger's sheer audacity

that have become
the stuff of legend.

LOW: There's all these myths
about them.

How many of those are true?

STERN: Following a tip off,

Low and his field assistant
Becky are heading to

a safari lodge where these
normally elusive animals

are reported to be
turning up every night.

Tucked away on the outskirts

of Kruger National Park,
the lodge could be

the perfect place for Low to set
up a new research project.

Honey badgers are scavengers
as well as hunters.

At the safari lodge,

they've learned there's
a regular supply of leftovers

at the rubbish dump.

According to
maintenance manager Alfred,

the dump has become a magnet
not just for badgers,

but for other animals, too.

[Alfred speaking English]

-LOW: Oh, with hyena?
-Yeah.

LOW: Have you
seen them fight here?

-ALFRED: Yeah.
-What happens when they fight?

[Low speaking English]

STERN: It might not be pretty,

but the rubbish dump
offers Low

the perfect opportunity to see
where honey badgers rank

in the pecking order.

LOW: So, this is where you dump
all the rubbish then?

STERN: Can a badger,
as Alfred claims,

actually face off an animal

five times
its own weight?

LOW: From which direction
do they normally come?

LOW: Ah, this little trail here?

LOW: So, what time do they
normly come in?

LOW: Okay.

Thank you very much, Alfred.

Appreciate it.

STERN: Low will be back at dusk
to see for himself

if the honey badger
really is top dog.

Though badgers are tolerated
at the lodge,

they can be a persistent problem
for local farmers.

MAN: I'm trying to

make a living out of
free-range pigs.

Around me is the "big five,"

but my problem is not
the big five.

The real problem
is the honey badger.

That's the big problem.

STERN: As well as
raiding his pig food,

badgers have attacked
and even killed his dogs.

MAN: A week ago I catch
two in one night.

They do a lot of damage.

STERN: Some farmers
just shoot the badgers.

This one's lucky to be getting
a second chance.

The farmer has called in
Brian Jones,

a wildlife conservationist with
a soft spot for honey badgers.

It's wonderful that
you're prepared

to save the animals
like this.

FARMER: They're after
the food of my pigs.

JONES: Okay, open up.

Give it to me.

STERN: Brian looks after all
kinds of unwanted animals,

and yet despite
its rough reputation,

the honey badger
is his favorite.

He's rescued
around 50 so far.

FARMER: Okay, Brian,
thank you very much.

Bai danke. Go well.

STERN: The badger
will be set free later,

as far away from the farmer
as possible.

JONES: They do get hurt
in their traps.

If we see it's quite serious
we will treat them accordingly.

When that's healed
we let them go again

Hopefully they don't
go back to that man,

because that man might now
decide to start killing them.

STERN: Brian is
heading back to base,

to the place that's been his
home for the last 22 years.

Set in its own 1,200-acre
game reserve,

Moholoholo is
a privately-run

animal rehabilitation center.

As well as providing a temporary
refuge for injured wildlife,

it also houses a few
longer-term residents,

including a honey badger
called Stoffel,

and his girlfriend, Hammy.

JONES: I've had in my house
hippo, rhino, brown hyena,

spotted hyena, leopards,
cheetah, lion.

I've had the whole lot.

But the honey badger -- there's
nothing near the honey badger.

The first honey badger
I took in was Stoffel.

He caused chaos
in the house.

He damaged everything.

I mean, he'd come and break
through the window,

go into the kitchen...

Knock the dog biscuits over,
go to the fridge,

lie on his back,
kick the fridge open...

Go and smell
what's on the menu today...

Get the frozen bacon,
sit on his back and eat it.

And you don't dare stop him.

You just let him do
what he wants.

WOMAN: Stoffel!

Stoffel!

Come on, let's go!

I don't believe it.

STERN: Stoffel came here
20 years ago

as someone else's unwanted pet,

not fit for release
into the wild.

Though happy at first
to look after him,

Brian soon discovered that

the badger was a menace to
his other animals.

[Jones]

He grabbed the rhino from
underneath and wouldn't let go.

And the rhino --

[Squealing]

He grabbed one of my
tawny eagles.

He killed the servals.

He wiped out 30, 40
guinea pigs, one shot.

He was extremely destructive.

When he flies into you,
it's not a joke.

He really rips you to pieces.

STERN: Stoffel was becoming
the pet from hell.

Stoffel!
Come on, my boy! Stoffel!

STERN: Alas for Brian,

this was just the start of

a long and challenging
relationship.

Honey badgers,
as their name suggests,

are fond of honey.

But the mayhem they cause
trying to get it

makes them a scourge
to beekeepers.

MAN: I've spoken to some of
the beekeepers in this area

who've lost up to 60 hives
in one night.

If you consider that

a beehive costs about
1,000 rand,

and takes about
two or three years

to develop into
a production colony,

you can see what the loss is,
it's huge.

STERN: On the other hand,

it takes guts
to face an angry swarm.

Badgers that get it wrong
have been stung to death.

It's the protein-rich grubs
they're after,

as much as the honey.

MAN: I've seen some hives where

the badger's actually got in
from the side

and chewed through this
22 millimeter wood.

22 mil is about that thick.

Solid pine --
you know, it's ripped apart.

Decimation!
Badger won't stop at anything.

[Laughs]

STERN: Sadly, badgers that raid
too often risk being poisoned.

Guy Stubbs wants to protect

honey badgers from the wrath
of his fellow beekeepers

by developing a cheap but
effective badger-proof hive.

He's come to
the rehab center,

where he's eager to try out
his approach

on some real badgers.

Phase One is all about watching
and learning.

MAN: Jan, please release
the badgers.

STERN: Enter
test badger Stoffel,

and his apprentice, Hammy.

Badgers are adept at
scaling trees,

but Guy thinks they'll struggle
to reach the hive

if there's no bark
to grip onto.

GUY: Okay, you can see,

he's actually just using
one claw at a time,

and he's hooking his claw
into any little crevice and hole

that he can find.

And then he pulls
his whole body up.

So, it's showing
incredible strength.

[Badger grunting]

GUY: Can you hear that panting?

It sounds like it's
a lot of effort for him.

STERN: Through sheer
determination,

Stoffel eventually gets
within range.

GUY: Look at the way

that he's grabbing onto
that plastic...

And is actually
ripping pieces of it off.

STERN: The sweet taste
of success!

With all his footholds
figured out,

Stoffel is soon back up
to finish the job.

A few painful stings
is a small price to pay.

One honey badger
was found alive

with well over
300 stings.

GUY: So, by just having it
off the ground, in a tree,

isn't a guarantee
for protecting your hive.

STERN: Armed with valuable
first-hand observations,

Guy is now ready
to go and design

his badger-saving,
badger-proof hive.

At the game lodge near
Kruger National Park,

zoologist Low de Vries
has a ring-side seat

at the rubbish dump.

He's hoping to see for himself
if the honey badger

lives up to
its ferocious billing.

There's no mistaking
a honey badger.

It wears a bold
black-and-white coat

and moves with
a confident trot.

STERN: Like a skunk, its vibrant
markings send a warning --

"Mess with me at your peril."

STERN: The two badgers

certainly don't appear put off
by Low's presence.

Pairs of badgers were once
thought to be couples.

But in fact, badger pups
stick with their mothers

for up to two years,

and it can be hard
to tell one from the other.

[Low whispering]

STERN: A long childhood suggests
the pup has a lot to learn

before it can survive
on its own.

This one is busy

mastering the art of
bin raiding.

[Low chuckles]

STERN: The greedy badgers

won't have the place to
themselves for long,

and they seem to know it.

Porcupines are the next
to show up.

Along with the jackals,

they hang around to wait for
the badgers' discarded scraps.

If push comes to shove,

it becomes clear
who's boss.

Even the civet,

a larger carnivore,
moves on.

For Low, this is
a rare opportunity

to watch wild honey badgers.

The action at the bins
might compare

to what happens at a carcass.

LOW: I'm noticing the incredible
number of sounds

these guys are making...

Chattering, growling at
each other.

Growling at
the other animals,

chirping away,

kind of like a contact call.

At times they almost
sound like jackals.

They are not bothered
by my presence.

I've been obsessed with these
animals for so many years.

STERN: Honey badgers
normally forage alone,

but news of the dump
appears to have spread.

With fresh arrivals,

there are soon
more badgers than bins.

And now they must contend
with each other.

[Badgers growling, snarling]

[Laughing]

LOW: Silly badgers!
[Chuckles]

STERN: Over at the lodge,

another gang of
gate-crashers

is piling in.

Remote cameras reveal them
making a beeline

for the kitchen.

The masters of mayhem
have arrived.

[Glass breaking]

Back at the bins,

things have taken
a serious turn.

With jaws nearly twice as strong
as a lion's,

a spotted hyena could crush
a badger with a single bite.

[Low whispering]

It's backing off.

STERN: The cause of
the hyena's hasty retreat

soon becomes
suffocatingly apparent.

Ugh! Oh, my word!

That's horrible!

STERN: One of the badgers,
it seems,

has deployed
a concealed weapon.

Oh, that's bad!

STERN: Fluid ejected from
the badger's anal pouch

can be smelled
from 40 yards away.

Ugh, that's truly awful!

This actually
makes your eyes water.

I've no idea how they
live with themselves.

STERN: At the rehab center,
Brian Jones was soon learning

from his pet badger, Stoffel,

that the animal's reputation
for bravery was no myth.

[Jones]

STERN: In one incident
in the wild,

honey badgers are said to have

chased seven lions
from their kill.

For Stoffel, though,
fighting alone,

round two was a disaster.

JONES: He did it again.

But this time
he didn't get off so well.

They pulverized him a bit.

He was in the hospital
two and a half months.

STERN: Though Stoffel survived,

honey badgers are not
invincible.

Because of their sometimes
foolhardy bravado,

they are occasionally
mauled to death

by big cats.

After his close encounter
with badgers at the dump,

Low is keen to get deeper
into their world.

The whole question of why pups
hang around with their mothers

for so long
is intriguing him.

Local tracker Enoch says he's
spotted a mother and baby

using an old termite mound
as a den,

less than a mile from camp.

It could be the breakthrough
that Low needs.

Despite their small size,

honey badgers travel
huge distances

in search of food.

With their incredible stamina,

they're easily capable of moving
20 miles a night,

which makes them
hard to pin down.

But if there's one badger
that's likely to stay put,

it's a nursing mother

near a regular
source of food.

LOW: So, is this the hole

where you saw the honey badger
with the pup?

ENOCH: Yeah, this is the one.

[Enoch]

STERN: Low decides to put
the burrow under surveillance.

With a bit of luck,
the mother and pup

will give him a unique window
into the normally hidden world

of badger parenting.

After Stoffel's severe mauling
by the lions,

Brian knew that he had to get
his badger under control.

His solution was
a brand new pen...

and the introduction of Hammy,
to help him work off steam.

Far from settling down, though,

the canoodling couple
soon proved that

honey badgers
are not just fearless,

they're astonishingly clever.

JONES: We started off with
a mesh-type fence,

but it didn't work.

Stoffel soon devised a plan
for opening up the gate,

which has got two bolts.

He would get the female
to go up.

She would go up,
open the first gate,

and he'd hold the gate
and say, "Woman, get up!

I'm pulling open,
you open up."

She goes up to the top,
she pulls the second one out.

And then he pulls it open,
he waits for her to get down,

and they escape together.

STERN:
The escape was no fluke.

Considering their small size,

honey badgers have
remarkably big brains.

Their intelligence
is just beyond anything.

STERN: Whatever Brian did
to keep him in,

Stoffel was hell-bent on
getting out.

In the end,
and at great expense,

Brian had no choice but to build
his own "Badger Alcatraz."

JONES: I said, "Stoffel,

the days of your escape
are over, buddy." Uh-huh.

That night they call me --

"Brian, Stoffel's out!"

I say, "It's impossible!"

But we had trees in here,

and he'd climb up the trees
and lean over onto the wall,

and he was out.

So, we cut all the branches
out of the trees in here,

and left the trees
in the middle.

Next afternoon, here's Stoffel

back in the office
to come and greet me.

Said, "How did he get out?!"

We came here, and the trees
left in the middle,

he spent the whole night bending
the branch, bending the branch,

twisting until it broke,
he puts it on his back,

Then he carries it to the wall,

leans it against the wall with
his back feet,

and climbed out, and that's how
he got out.

And we had to take
all the trees out.

Then he dug up the rocks,

and he'd roll them
with his back feet to the wall,

until he piled them up
high enough.

And then he'd get out.

So, we took all the rocks away.

This was like a game
for Stoffel.

Every time I devised some plan,

it was like a game
for him to work out,

how could he get over this.

[Glass breaking]

1:00 in the morning,
my wife wakes me up,

"Brian, Brian,
someone's in the house."

She said,
"I heard a window break."

So we freeze.

[Thud]

"Oh, my!"
Expecting burglars.

And here's Stoffel
at my bedroom door,

trying to get through
the bedroom door.

He made himself a mud ball,

and he'd pat it
to make it bigger,

and he rolled it,
and he stands on it

and he just got up like that.

People have said,
"Oh, did you train?"

I say, "Train it?
Not at all!

Didn't even think of it!"
He outwitted us each time,

with his schemes.

Stoffel!

JONES: I remember one day,

keeper left a rake in
Stoffel's enclosure.

He scratched himself,
lies on his side --

now, he's thinking --
computer's working.

"Take the rake, put it on his
back, put it against the wall."

Climb out,
and off he goes.

MAN: Stoffel!

I mean, you won't believe
these stories!

You think it's a hoax.
It's not a hoax.

That is Stoffel.

STERN: On the outskirts of
Kruger National Park,

Low has the badger's den
under surveillance.

The photos from the first night,
however,

reveal an unexpected visitor.

LOW: Leopard on the camera trap
at twenty to 6:00.

Twenty to 6:00 --

that's ten minutes after
I placed the trap out.

STERN: It's not a good sign.

Leopards are one of
the very few animals

known to kill honey badgers.

LOW: Unfortunately, there are no
honey badgers on these shots,

which is kind of strange.

I saw the tracks there
with my own eyes.

Enoch said those tracks were
relatively fresh.

Either this was never a den

and the honey badgers just
kind of came through,

or the mother felt threatened

by the presence of
the leopard there

and decided to move the pup.

STERN: Perhaps the average
wild honey badger

is smart enough
to know its limits.

The mother's vanishing act
leaves Low back at square one.

The difficulty in finding
and tracking badgers in the wild

is a major problem for anyone
who wants to study them.

Having lost a promising lead,

Low decides to try
an experiment.

LOW: There is this one
intriguing story

that a bird called
the honeyguide

takes honey badgers
to bee nests.

The honey badger goes
and breaks open the nest,

and honeyguides can then
feed on the honey.

STERN: It's known that

honeyguides will lead humans
to bees' nests,

but it's never been shown
for honey badgers.

LOW: I think it might be true.

If they've been shown to lead in
humans, why not honey badgers?

There's no reason
why it shouldn't be true.

STERN: Using a recording of
the greater honeyguide,

Low is hoping to lure a badger
out of its burrow.

[Birdcall playing]

But after several hours
and many miles,

the jury is still out.

Not a single badger
has come out of its hole.

Over at the rehab center,

beekeeper Guy Stubbs is finally
ready to pit his wits

against Stoffel and Hammy,

with what he hopes is
a badger-proof hivestand.

GUY: The important thing
is to make sure

that you leave nothing
lying around

that Stoffel can use as a tool
to climb onto the stand.

STERN: With room for
up to ten hives,

Guy's raised metal cage
is quick to assemble.

If it works,

it'll help keep the peace
between beekeepers

and badgers.

GUY: Okay, I think
everything's ready now.

Jan, won't you release
the badgers, please?

I feel that we've got
a good chance.

I don't think
they can get up here.

There's Stoffel trying.

Look at that.

Looks a bit like a sloth.

He's feeling for
a little hole

or a grip,
like he did with the tree,

but he's not finding one.

They're too slippery.

This is how
we stop them getting in.

STERN: Hammy has been watching
from the sidelines,

and with Stoffel flagging,

she moves in.

GUY: Can you see?

Can you see
her claws?

She seems to be
getting a grip!

Oh, this is terrible.

No!
Ugh, no, man!

And there she's got it!
She's got onto the hive.

Can you believe it? Ugh!

[Chuckles]

She's actually
pushed her way through

and got to the honey
that way.

That's her technique now.

She's pushing the hives
all over the place --

and now she's blocked
my view.

Well, this is unfortunately
not even Stoffel.

It's even more embarrassing.

STERN:
It's round one to Hammy...

And back to the drawing board
for Guy.

[Camera shutter clicking]

GUY: I've tried everything.

I've got a lot of respect
for honey badgers.

STERN: Out in the bush,

another day
is drawing to a close.

And the night shift
is beginning to stir.

For three weeks, Low and his
field assistant, Becky,

have been searching for badgers
beyond the camp,

without success.

But they're about to
get lucky.

BECKY: Where is he?

STERN: They've staked out a spot
with fresh signs

of badger activity,
and it's paid off.

Two badgers, a mother
and a large male pup,

have returned
to dig up more food.

Most likely,

they're after beetle grubs
or scorpions.

[Low]

STERN: The two badgers
are soon joined by a third.

It's a huge male --

and he's not interested
in dinner.

[Low]

STERN: He seems to sense that

the female is ready
to mate again,

after nearly two years of
single parenting.

When a mother starts to
entertain suitors,

it's the cue for her pup to move
on and strike out on its own.

This is potentially
a big night for him.

For Low and Becky,
it's a rare

and unexpected chance to observe
courtship,

honey badger style.

[Becky]

[Female squawking]

[Becky and Low laughing]

[Becky]

[Becky]

[Low]

[Becky]

[Low]

[Low]

[Becky]

STERN: Taking the hint, perhaps,

the younger male moves off
to feed elsewhere,

leaving the lovers
to themselves.

But the newly
independent badger

could hardly have picked
a worse night to go solo.

He's dangerously isolated,

and his mother is too wrapped up
to notice the old enemy is back.

This time,

the hyenas have turned up
in force --

and the young male
is out in the open.

Whatever food

the badgers
have sniffed out,

the hyenas now want to claim
for themselves.

Retreat would seem to be
the sensible option here.

[Hyenas calling]

Incredibly, though, the young
male stands his ground,

as if daring the hyena
to attack.

[Growling]

Meanwhile, the big male has
at last cottoned on,

and immediately squares up
for a fight.

Mother seems happy

to let the boys
sort it out.

STERN: The four hyenas
are determined to muscle in,

but the outnumbered badgers

are equally determined
to force them back.

[Snarling]

STERN: The honey badgers
aren't bluffing.

They're quite possibly the
bravest act in the African bush.

Some would say
they're also the smartest.

Having been outwitted by Stoffel
countless times,

Brian isn't taking
any more chances.

Reluctantly, he's had to add

an electric fence
to the badger's pen.

It's for
everyone's benefit...

Including Brian's.

JONES: I've tried to
make peace with him,

but he just wants to kill me.

Whenever he hears my voice,
his tail's up,

ready for attack.

[Laughs]

Hello, Stoffel.
Hello, my baby.

Yes, my buddy.

Oh, Stoffel! Hey!

Stoffel!
Don't you forgive me?

Oh, Stoffel,
you're worse than a woman --

you just don't forget.

STERN: Aside from
looking after Stoffel,

the business of
saving wild badgers

is keeping Brian
as busy as ever.

Three more animals

trapped by farmers
have now been patched up

and are ready for release.

Brian can only hope that
the badgers don't go

and create havoc
for someone else.

JONES: He's looking to see
if we're following him.

And he's got the cheek
to growl on the way.

Ach, you lovely thing.

STERN: One gone,
two more to launch.

Brian knows that these badgers
won't be the last he saves.

But he'll keep doing
whatever it takes

to give these relentless
little warriors a chance.

JONES: The honey badger to me
is so brave and so courageous

and so determined that
you can't help but love him.

He's really got
a place in my heart.

STERN: After a month
at the safari lodge

trying to track honey badgers
in the wild, Low is stumped.

He's seen for himself

the honey badger's reputation
for courage and ferocity

isn't just hype,

yet as a scientist
he still has

so many questions
he wants to answer.

LOW: It's actually quite
frustrating at the moment.

I see these animals
literally every single night.

They come in,

cause chaos
inside camp...

As soon as morning hits,
they just disappear.

STERN: Their fearlessness is
backed up by

a more subtle quality

that enables them to get
just what they want --

and then vanish.

Perhaps intelligence
is what really gives

the honey badger its edge.

But has Stoffel, that cunning
little mastermind,

finally been defeated?

Or has Brian Jones

merely set the stage for
his most ingenious escape yet?

After all,
honey badgers never give up.