User:Wejb.1978/sandbox

Rattle Mouse (Ratel)
An early description, probably referring to a honey badger, referred to it as a rattle mouse. In 1766, during an English sailor's visit to the Cape, he described the creature as follows: ''Among the most extraordinary of these is a small animal, somewhat larger than a squirrel, with a head that has some resemblance to that of a bear. It is called a rattle mouse, from its frequently making a rattling noise with its tail, which is neither very hairy nor very long. Its back is of a liver colour, and its sides nearly black. It lives for the most part on trees, leaping like a squirrel from one tree to another, and lives upon acorns, nuts, and the like, but purrs like a cat.'' It's worth noting that the Cape in 1766 was a Dutch outpost, and the word for 'rattle' in Dutch and Afrikaans is 'ratel'.