Illustration of an outsized black ratel by Philippe Coudray in Guide des Animaux Cachés (2009).
The giant ratel or giant honey badger is a cryptid reported from Central and East Africa.[1] Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that there are a number of sightings of giant ratels on record, and that giant black ratels could explain the too and some sightings of the Nandi bear.[2]
French hunter F. Edmond-Blanc claimed to have seen one during a 1932 expedition to Ubangi-Shari (now the Central African Republic):[2]
| “ | The existence of a large ratel was borne out by one I saw; unfortunately I did not have time to fire. I bitterly regretted it because of the beast's size which seemed to me to be really gigantic.
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Ratels have a large size range, so "giant" ratels could simply be very old male specimens of the regular ratel (Mellivora ratel). However, if they do represent a distinct species or subspecies, Heuvelmans suggested the name Mellivora ratel maxima.[2]
Similar cryptids[]
The Nandi bear, some sightings of which may have been misidentifications of giant black ratels.
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Heuvelmans, Bernard & Barloy, Jean-Jacques (2015) Les Ours Insolites d'Afrique, Les Éditions de l'Œil du Sphinx, ISBN 9791091506298
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Heuvelmans, Bernard (1955) On the Track of Unknown Animals, Routledge, ISBN 978-1138977525