A badger breaking the law!

My in-laws Lourens and Sarie Badenhorst had an interesting visitor at their home in Melkbosstrand near Cape Town earlier this year. One morning they woke to find the fridge on their stoep open and plundered. The cheeky thief returned the following night to see if the fridge had been restocked. Their neighbours thought it must be a mongoose, but my wife Esna suspected a honey badger due to the strength and intelligence of the thief. With the help of the Cape Leopard Trust, we set up a camera trap and by the following Saturday we’d identified the culprit. The SPCA then helped us put up a cage trap. On the first night the badger tried to reach the bait without entering the cage, which gave us a chance to take photos. The next night we caught the thief just after midnight. The badger was set free in the Blouberg Nature Reserve, but we won’t be surprised if it finds its way back to that fridge… WALLIE VAN DER WALT, Cape Town