Dreampanther
We all face the reaper.
I got this from the net...
“The ratel has the reputation of being a remarkably tough and courageous animal best left alone. The ratel's main defence is a good offence: when molested it attacks, no matter how big and dangerous its adversary. People and even motor vehicles that come too close are not exempt. An all-black ratel that was followed first by a hyaena, then by a jackal, and lastly by me as it galloped across the floor of Ngorongoro Crater early one morning, rounded on the car and bit the tires.”
“In another instance, a man who got out of his car to film a pair of ratels was promptly chased by the male, which proceeded to scratch at the car door and growl for 5 minutes before returning to its mate. When the photographer tried again, the performance was repeated, while the female waited patiently at a distance. The ratel's courage is backed up by powerful jaws and limbs, sharp claws, and a nearly impenetrable skin, which teeth and even buckshot (except from very close) will not penetrate. At the same time, the looseness of its skin enables it to
twist about and grab an assailant in its own vicelike jaws. According to folklore, backed up by some circumstantial evidence, the ratel goes for the scrotum when it attacks large animals (bull buffalo, wildebeest, waterbuck, kudu, man) that have offered some real or imagined provocation. Whether this last is fact or fallacy, it is clear that the ratel fully deserves its warning colouration.”
“Whether the ratel's skin is impervious to snake's fangs is uncertain, but it is reported to catch and eat even the deadliest kinds. One was seen to follow a mamba into an aardvark hole, drag it out, and devour it with complete unconcern. Another fought and killed, then ate, a 3 - meter python, but shrieked and puffed during the battle, indicating some fear. The snake was as mangled as if it had been run over by a train.”
“There appear to be no natural predators on adult ratels, which itself is evidence of how formidable this animal is, for it weighs hardly more than a jackal. A lion was recorded as having killed one, but there were signs of a terrific struggle (Stevenson-Hamilton 1947). In another encounter between these species, 3 ratels took a kill away from 3 subadult and 4 half-grown lions (Cowie 1966). Another indication of the ratel's strength and truculence (predisposition to fighting aggressively) is the fact that one that entered a steel live trap escaped by tearing the end to pieces with its claws, then continued to mangle the trap with its teeth”