Plucky and clever with a never-say-die attitude: what's not to like about the honey badger?
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But for West Dapto wildman Andrew Ucles the badger isn't just quaint; it's kindred.
Ucles, a Survivor TV alum and survivalist who has built a massive online following chasing dangerous animals across the world, touched down in Sydney this week, having spent four months filming his latest solo wildlife encounters in Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa.
He went to Africa with his intended documentary firmly formed in his head.
He was going to call it, 'The Impossible Seven' and would chronicle his interactions with seven of the world's most impossible-to-catch creatures: the civet, jackal, aardvark, a poacher, black mamba, pangolin and - most importantly - the honey badger.
"In my quest to do that I failed abysmally, because I was only able to track down three of the seven - the black mamba, pangolin and honey badger," Ucles, 34, told the Mercury.
"But having said that, the one that was on the top of my list, I mean the one that kept me up at night, the one that made me emotional, the one I was prepared to do anything for, was the honey badger."
"There were certain characteristics in myself that I also parallel with the badger. They are tenacious, determined, they are the kind of animal that just does not give up.
"I had so much in common with this animal that I honestly felt like it was my soul mate."
Ucles said he "essentially became nocturnal" in his early efforts to catch one of the creatures, which roam wildly without any distinctive pattern - "it was like trying to catch a butterfly".
He would cover 15-20 kilometres of bushland at night, once chasing one into the darkness without a torch, only to come up empty-handed.
When he finally came face-to-face with the honey badger, it wasn't as expected.
A local farmer found a badger raiding his chicken pen; it became Ucles' job to relocate the animal.
"The farmer said, 'I don't know how the hell you're going to deal with this, this animal's going to pull you apart'. I was very nervous," Ucles said.
"He almost got me a couple of times. I definitely had to learn some new dance moves, that's for sure.
"I was able to get him under control but even then, trying to handle one of these animals is very difficult because they can twist and turn in their own skin.
"Their intelligence parameters are well outside any other animal on earth. Their ability to learn and their ability to problem-solve is unbelievable."
"To finally be in the presence of this animal was unbelievable and I can't understand why they are persecuted and killed; that truly upsets me.
"I believe they should be Africa's greatest animal ambassador."
Ucles' last trip to Africa, about 10 years ago, resulted in the self-made Born to Be Wild series, which was picked up by Netflix in late-2021 and recently aired in England and Ireland.
The exposure was welcome reward after numerous setbacks as he attempted to crack the film and television industry.
In 2016, Ucles' hard-won nine-episode deal with a major network fell apart after he took seriously ill during the early stages of filming in South-East Asia.
Adventurer takes a well-earned break
Recent close calls, including one with a deadly black mamba in the Zimbabwean savannah, have reminded Andrew Ucles of the need for support.
"Some of the places I've been handling these venomous snakes, if I get bitten, I'm dead - I'm gone.
"I've got to be risk-averse and smart about my future. The only way I can conceivably see myself doing this is under the support of a production company or a network."
Ucles is seeing out the rest of the Northern Territory's wet season at his childhood home in Horsley before returning to the Top End to run his wildlife tours business, Ucles Wild Tours.
Network deal or not, he said he was enjoying the comforts of home - a roof over his head and clean, running water - now more than ever.
"Travelling to some of these countries, with the remoteness - the quality of life for a lot of people there unfortunately isn't great.
"Every single time I travel overseas and experience places that are underprivileged, it's a sure reminder of how lucky we are to be living in Australia."
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