Others like rhinos, lions and even the elusive leopard can be found if you know the right places to look. Then there are the species you have to be incredibly lucky to see, rarities like a pack of wild dogs, cheetahs or even a sable antelope. Finally there are those whose numbers are either so low or whose behaviour makes them so elusive that you can only dream of finding them. Roan antelope and the evasive honey badger are two such creatures.

So to see both, on the same day, in the same area was so unlikely it really can be considered miraculous. However this happened to us driving down from Mopani rest camp to Letaba rest camp on a natural history shoot in winter 2011.

Amidst the mopani thickets we found a herd of roan browsing slowly from tree to tree. It appeared that they were selecting the older, most reddish leaves as they moved silently through the thicket. While the majority of the herd stayed deep within the cover of the trees, not venturing close to the road, one male appeared to be more curious than the rest, coming much closer and staring intently at us for long periods of time before moving on to the next tree. He never exhibited aggression or fear as he watched us, simply curiosity. This could have be a result of our modified camera bakkie, which has a unique silhouette.

A matter of kilometres from the roan sighting we noticed something that appeared to be digging close to the edge of the road. Slowly we crept up to the creature, scared that our presence would scare it off. However it was digging with such determination that it seemed not to even notice our presence. Either that, or honey badgers really do live up to their reputation of being scared of nothing. It dug furiously for about five minutes before eventually reaching its prey. Although we couldn’t clearly see what the honey badger was feasting on, the sound of it crunching away filled the afternoon air, drowning out the bird song and chirping crickets. As soon as its meal was finished the honey badger trotted away into the late afternoon dusk, in search, I am sure, of another tasty snack.

© This video belongs to the Southern African Natural History Unit.