Community Magazine January 2014

76 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE The Porcupine The porcupine is the prickliest of all rodents. There are about two dozen porcupine species, and all boast a coat of needle-like quills to give predators a sharp reminder that this animal is no easy meal. Some quills, like those of Africa’s crested porcupine, are nearly a foot long! P orcupines are generally black or brown. The quills are lighter in color, often with black and yellow or black and white alternating rings. They have soft hair, but on their back, sides, and tail, the hair is usually mixed with sharp quills. These quills typically lie flat until a porcupine is threatened; when that happens, the quills stand up straight as a means to keep the threat away. Biologists separate porcupines into two main categories: Old World porcupines and New World porcupines. Old World porcupines live in Africa, Europe, and Asia. These animals usually live on the ground and can inhabit deserts, grasslands, and forests. NewWorld porcupines are found in North, Central, and South America. The most common New World species is the North American porcupine, also known as the common porcupine. These porcupines are good climbers and spend most of their lives in trees. Some even have prehensile (gripping) tails that can grasp branches like monkeys. The North American porcupine is the only species that lives in the U.S. and Canada, and is the largest of all porcupines. An adult is about 37 inches long, including the tail, and weighs approximately 25 pounds. Its quills can reach 8 inches long. The North American porcupine is a solitary animal, although it may den with other porcupines in the winter. It makes its den in caves, decaying logs, and hollow trees. The porcupine is the only native North American mammal with antibiotics in its skin. These antibiotics prevent infection when the porcupine falls out of a tree and is stuck with its own quills upon hitting the ground. It is fairly common for porcupines to fall out of trees, because they are highly tempted by the tender buds and twigs at the ends of the trees’ branches, and will try reaching for them – sometimes unsuccessfully. What’s for Supper? The porcupine is an herbivore, which means it only eats plant matter. This includes a variety of plants, shrubs, leaves, twigs, and herbs, with a preference for green plants. In the winter, when food is scarce, the porcupine will also eat the tender layer of tissue beneath the bark of trees. Porcupines may gnaw on bones to sharpen their teeth and to obtain salt at the same time. As they are vegetarian animals, they do not receive enough sodium through their regular diet, and are always on the look- out for additional sources of salt. In search of salt, porcupines have also been found to eat tool handles, doors, tables, footwear, clothing, and other items that have been coated in salty sweat.