Habitat
Porcupines
prefer forests with both hardwood and softwood trees, though they
may be found in desert chaparral in northern Mexico. |
Length
Adult length: 31-40 inches (78-100 cm)
Tail length: 7-11 inches (17.5-28 cm)
Shoulder height: Up to 12 inches (30 cm) |
Weight
Adult:
7-15 pounds (3-7 kg); males have weighed as much as 40 pounds (18 kg) |
Life
Span
Up to 10-15 years
in the wild; 10 years or more in captivity |
Diet
In the wild: Year
round diet of the bark and cambium layer of many different trees.
Spring and summer diet consists of grasses, buds, twigs, roots,
leaves, flowers, seeds and an assortment of other vegetation.
Bones and antlers found on the ground are eagerly gnawed for
their high mineral content. Winter diet consists primarily of
conifer needles and the tree bark of conifers and hardwoods.
At the zoo: Commercially
prepared rodent diet, plus assorted vegetables and fruits including
carrots, yams and apples |
Reproduction
Female porcupines become
sexually mature at about 18 months of age. The breeding season occurs
between September to November and females may cycle more than once a
year. Gestation varies from 205 to 215 days. One pup or "porcupette" is
born in the spring (usually late-April to early-May,) However, pups can
be born as late as August. Newborn pups weigh about 1 pound (.45 kg)
and are approximately 10 inches (25 cm) long.
Life Cycle
Young are born with eyes open and teeth erupted. Their
bodies are covered with long hairs and quills, which are fully functional
after drying within a few hours. Newborn are born mobile and capable
of following the female. Young porcupines nurse about two months, but
begin feeding on vegetation after only the first few days of life.
Young usually stay with the female through the summer and then are
on their own. Coloration of young porcupines usually darkens with age,
and they reach full adult size in three to four years. While very nearsighted,
porcupines have keen senses of smell, hearing and touch.
Prickly Life
Its name comes from Latin for "swine" and "thorn." The porcupine has 30,000
or more quills, which cover all its body except the snout, throat, belly and
feet pads. Quills are modified hairs with hollow, spongy centers. The loosely
attached quills easily embed in attackers upon contact. While the porcupine
does not throw quills, the flailing muscular tail and powerful body may help
impel quills deeply into attackers. The quills' barbed ends expand with moisture
and continue to work deeper into flesh. Porcupine quills have mildly antibiotic
properties and thus are not infectious. Quills may cause death if they puncture
a vital organ or if a muzzle full of quills leads to starvation.
How do Porcupines Mate? Very Carefully!
Males fiercely compete for breeding rights. Hostility and violent battles
are common with vicious bites, hundreds of "foreign quills" exchanged
and even fatalities. Courtship consists of a period of wrestling,
chases, vocalizations and urine showers. A receptive female folds
her quills flat against her body, elevates her rear and arches
her tail over her back. This provides the male with a quill-less
platform. Mating continues until one of the pair ends contact by
climbing a tree or hostile screaming.
A Mostly Quiet
Life
Porcupines are generally solitary in nature, although groups up
to a dozen may gather at certain nocturnal feeding sites during summer
and early autumn. Numerous porcupines may share a den on a rotating
basis, and several may share a winter den at the same time. During
autumn breeding season, a number of males are found around adult females
in estrus. During the summer, the nocturnal porcupine often spends
the day resting safely in trees. Despite its stout body, short legs
and waddling gait, the porcupine scales trees to great heights, climbing
in an awkward and slow manner. The strong and barbed tail acts as a
fifth leg for climbing, as well as a tripod-like prop for sitting upright.
If alarmed, the porcupine will present its back with quills erected.
Fishers, bobcats, cougars, coyotes, wolves and wolverines prey on porcupines.
Great horned owls prey on young. The fisher is an especially successful
predator. It launches frontal attacks on the unprotected snout, then
a weakened or shocked porcupine can be flipped over, exposing its belly.
|
Fascinating
Facts
- Vocalizations
of battling or breeding porcupines sound like wild cats and
have led to assumptions of wild cats present in some areas!
- Porcupine
incisors, like those of most rodents, continue to grow throughout
their lives. They wear down with constant gnawing on hard
substances!
|
Woodland Park Zoo's
porcupines are located in the award- winning Northern Trail. During
the summer look up in the trees to find the resting porcupines.
Porcupines
are a very successful species and are not endangered. Nonetheless,
porcupines have enemies, humans being the most lethal. Besides becoming "road
kill," porcupines are targeted due to certain destructive behaviors.
The timber industry targets the porcupine because of its year round
taste for trees. Agriculturists also consider the porcupine a pest
when it forages on crops such as corn. A desire for salt leads porcupines
to gnaw on objects as varied as vehicle tires for road salt or axe
handles for salty human perspiration. Humans have used bounties and
poisoning against porcupines to control their numbers. During the
1950s and 1960s, reintroduced fishers successfully reduced porcupine
populations in programs in states from Oregon to Vermont.
How You Can Help!
Although the porcupine is not considered endangered, many other plant
and animal species are in peril. The effort to save endangered
species requires cooperation and support at the individual, regional,
national and international levels. You can help in this cause.
Join and become active at Woodland Park Zoo and other conservation
organization of your choice. Let your elected representatives know
your views on protecting endangered species and wild habitats.
To learn other ways you can help, contact Woodland Park Zoo at webkeeper@zoo.org about supporting conservation programs
at the zoo. Learn other ways you can help conserve wildlife and
habitats by visiting our How You Can Help page.
Sources
and Suggested Reading
Dodge, Wendell E. "Porcupine." In Chapman, Joseph A. and George
A. Feldhamer, ed. 1982. Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, Economics.
The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD. 1,147 p.
Macdonald, David,
ed. 1999. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. Barnes & Noble Books,
New York, NY. 895 p.
* Taxonomic classification varies between
references. Classification information used in this fact sheet was
taken from Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic And Geographic
Reference, edited by Don E. Wilson and Dee Ann M. Reeder, Second
Edition, 1993. |
Classification
and Range
