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Porcupine or North American porcupine

Like other species belonging to the porcupine family, their North American relative spends most of his life on trees, the leaves and bark of which he feeds on. Nature endowed him with sharp claws and bare paw pads, thanks to which he perfectly keeps his balance on the branches.

Place of residence

Habitat: Forests of North America from Eastern Alaska and Newfoundland in the north to Tennessee and Northern Mexico in the south. The North American porcupine prefers mixed forests, but if necessary, adapts to other, different conditions, such as sandy deserts, scrub and even open spaces of the tundra. He sleeps all day, curled up in a ball, in the forks of trees or in rock crevices. Each animal has several such shelters located at different ends of the territory. At dawn, the porcupine goes to the nearest hole. This is a conservative animal, he uses proven trails and leaves noticeable marks on soft ground or snow. In especially severe winters, the porcupine spends several days without getting out in its shelter or leaves it for only a few minutes. In the summer, he decides to retire some distance from the hole, but usually rarely crosses the boundaries of his possessions. In winter, the animals are in a group. Porcupine males, who lead a solitary lifestyle for most of the year, go in search of partners by the end of autumn or early winter. Their eyesight is poor, but their hearing and sense of smell are well developed.
For the first white settlers of North America, the porcupine was a desirable and easily accessible prey, one of the main sources of food. They hunt it for meat even today. Previously, the Indians used porcupine needles to make a variety of jewelry. Nowadays, people, especially foresters, are fighting against porcupine, because it feeds on the bark of trees, and this leads to the death of plants. In some areas, they are trying to limit the number of Porcupines by resettling their natural enemy, the pecan. The pecan manages to defeat the porcupine: he watches over the animal, which does not suspect anything, then with a sudden throw turns it on its back and bites into the stomach or chest with its teeth.

Interesting facts from the life of Porcupine:

• An adult porcupine has about 30,000 needles.
• The porcupine starts to gnaw at the tree from above: first it gnaws the branches, then it takes the trunk. Some forests with large numbers of porcupines look like they have been burned out by a fire.
• Porcupine loves salt, so he gnaws on the handles of agricultural implements that are salty in taste.
• Porcupine builds its nest in the crowns of trees, sometimes even at a height of 6 m.
• Needles: straighten in case of danger. They have small notches that dig into the skin of the attacker.
• Pecan: is one of the few predators that the Porcupine should be wary of.
• Palms: the pads on them are bare and hard, and long sharp claws help to climb tree trunks.

Porcupines are amazing animals that cannot be confused with other representatives of the fauna. Porcupine quills can be up to 50 cm long and about 7 mm thick.

Previously, the animal had a woolen coat, but in the process of development, the soft bristles were replaced by stiffer hair.

Between the long needles grow elongated spines up to 15-30 cm long, which serve as a shelter for the delicate porcupine fur.

porcupine quills

The animal porcupine has hair on the head, lower limbs and body, and the tail of the animal has bristles with thick needles. With impending danger, the porcupine raises a needle-like “fur coat”, while making a rattling sound with a crack.

The quills of the porcupine are painted black and white, and the bristly part is colored brown.

Below are photos of the porcupine.

Structure

The length of the body depends on the type of porcupine, so it can be from 35 to 90 cm, the weight of the animal is in the range from 2 to 27 kg. Below are photos of the porcupine animal, on which you can get acquainted with various individuals in more detail.

The mass of a porcupine depends not only on the species, but also on the density of the body structure.

The legs of the animal are short, covered with small hairs. Due to the small limbs, the movement of the porcupine looks awkward and slow. However, in the event of a danger, these representatives of the fauna are able to run.

The forelimbs have 3 or 4 fingers, the hind legs are five-fingered. Each toe has a black claw. The soles of the paws are smooth.

In most groups of porcupines, the tail length varies from 6 to 15 cm. The exception is the long-tailed and brush-tailed porcupines, in which the tail grows up to 25 cm.

The skull of the animal has a slightly elongated shape, and the muzzle is blunt and rounded. The head of most porcupines is covered with a short woolen pile or bristle comb.

porcupine teeth

The animal has molars with an almost flat chewing base. The incisors are quite developed, and due to the orange color they are clearly visible even with the mouth closed.

Complete grinding of teeth does not threaten a porcupine, because they grow throughout their lives. The total number of all porcupine teeth is 20 pieces.

Eyes, ears and voice of a porcupine

The shape of the eyes of porcupines is round, their size is quite small. The animal's ears are inconspicuous and resemble and slightly resemble human auricles.

A porcupine at rest is a silent animal species. However, in case of discontent or danger, they begin to grunt and puff.

Life span

The life of a porcupine in captivity increases several times. In the wild, animals live up to 10 years.

Porcupine Enemies

There are many opponents and hunters for the porcupine: Bears; Wolves; Lynx; Foxes.

Some sources cite attempts by the American eagle owl to get the spiny animal as prey.

The massiveness of the enemy does not frighten the porcupine; with an approaching alarm, the porcupine raises its quills and starts stamping its feet loudly, making loud sounds. If this attempt at defense did not scare away the enemy, then the porcupine goes on the offensive, jumping on the enemy with bulging needles.

Wounded animals are not able to pull the needles out of the body themselves, therefore, exhausted from hunger, they look for easy prey.

The main enemy of the porcupine is the crocodile and man. Scientists have found the remains of porcupines in the stomachs of some individuals of crocodiles.

Porcupine and man

A porcupine in the wild does not cause any harm to humans at rest. However, if the animal ended up on agricultural plantations, then it will definitely have somewhere to roam.

This type of animal will easily eat crops, dig up the ground and even gnaw through watering hoses. Such tactless behavior became the basis for the start of a policy of extermination of these animals.

Another reason for hunting porcupines is the meat of an animal that tastes like a rabbit, only more juicy and tender.

Does a porcupine shoot quills?

Most of us mistakenly think that a porcupine fires a lot of quills at an enemy when it is on alert.

This assumption is a myth. Due to the fragile fastening of the needles on the body, they simply fall off at the moment of a sharp attack by the porcupine.

Is there poison in the needles?

When an enemy is hit with a needle, it penetrates deep enough into the tissue. The needles themselves do not contain any poison. However, in the process of wearing a defense weapon, many types of bacteria and dirt accumulate on the body of a porcupine.

Therefore, when an animal is wounded, it simply festering occurs first, and then blood poisoning. Which can lead to death.

Porcupine photo

Erethizon dorsatum Linnaeus, 1758

Appearance

North American porcupine - the second largest rodent in North America after the beaver: its body length is 60-90 cm, a thick tail up to 30 cm long; weight 5-14 kg. The body from head to tail is covered with yellowish-white serrated needles (up to 30 thousand pieces) with black or brown ends. The guard hairs are somewhat longer than the needles. Contrasting black and white coloring should warn potential attackers of danger.

Lifestyle and nutrition

The North American porcupine is distributed in the forested regions of North America from Alaska to northern Mexico. It can be found in many landscapes - from tundra to semi-desert, although it prefers coniferous and aspen forests. In different areas, porcupines can live both mainly in trees and in dens, climbing trees only for feeding. How much time they spend on the ground depends on the number of predators and the density of "edible" ground vegetation in the area. The way of life is mostly solitary, although in winter porcupines sometimes settle in several individuals in one shelter and feed in groups of up to 20 individuals. It is active all year round, at night.

It feeds on all kinds of plant foods - bark, acorns and nuts, young leaves, herbs and, especially willingly, apples. Often for several days it gnaws on the same tree (for example, sugar maple). He loves salt very much.

The North American porcupine has a very peculiar defense system. In case of danger, he first of all seeks to climb a tree. If this is not possible, the North American porcupine assumes a defensive posture - threateningly raises its quills and begins to beat from side to side with its powerful and strong tail, simultaneously snapping its teeth. Raised needles sit loosely - this allows the porcupine to quickly free itself if the predator nevertheless attacks. Few predators risk "messing" with a porcupine; it is primarily preyed upon by ilka, wolverine and cougar. When attacking a porcupine, they tend to knock it over on its back in order to cling to its unprotected belly.

Porcupine needles are covered with specific fatty acids, and their concentration is higher in summer than in winter. Approximately half is palmitic acid, other components include palmitoleic, isopalmitic, oleic; 10 more components account for about 5% of the mass of the fraction. All of them have antibacterial properties. Most likely, this is due to the fact that the beast loves to climb trees, and it happens that it can fall and get seriously injured from its own weapons. The germicidal lubricant thus protects it from infections in such cases.

reproduction

The mating season is in October-November. Females at this time make high, falsetto sounds, calling males. Porcupines are polygamous, the male takes turns mating with several females. After 210 days of pregnancy, in April-June, the female gives birth to a single cub - well developed, sighted and large. The weight of the newborn is 400-500 g. Half an hour after the birth, the needles harden in him. From the first day of life, he follows his mother and shows all the typical defensive reactions well. Milk feeding is repeated frequently. When feeding, the female sits down, leaning on her thighs and tail. The female and cub usually meet only at night, during the day he hides on the ground while she sleeps on a tree. An independent cub becomes on the 5th month. Females reach puberty on the 25th, males - on the 29th month.

The porcupine lives up to 18, but in nature, on average, up to 6 years, due to grinding of teeth.

Economic importance

The animal does not cause significant harm. Gnawing the bark of trees, including some fruit and ornamental ones. In search of salt in winter, he gets out on roads sprinkled with anti-icing salt; can gnaw on unattended wooden-handled tools, boat oars, saddles, car tires.

The American Indians used porcupine meat as food, and quills were used to decorate hunting bags, moccasins, and other items.

Tree porcupine family, relatively large rodent (body length 64–86 cm, thick tail up to 30 cm). The head is small, the legs are short. The body is covered with yellowish-white needles (up to 30 thousand) with black or brown ends (less on the underside of the body). The guard hairs are somewhat longer than the needles.

Distributed in the forest regions of North America from Alaska to Mexico. Prefers pine and aspen forests. His stay is revealed by accumulations of oval and bean-shaped dung at the entrance to the lair, by footprints on damp ground, and by bark removed (gnawed) from trees. It is not difficult to notice the beast itself, slowly walking on the ground or climbing a tree.

Active all year round, mostly at night. In summer, it tends to be lonely, but in winter, several individuals settle in the same shelter, walk along the same paths and feed on the same trees. Porcupine is a skilled tree climber and a good swimmer. In summer, it prefers to eat herbaceous plants, including aquatic ones. In autumn and winter, it peels off the outer layers of tree bark and eats the succulent layers underneath, which contain starch and sugar. Often, a porcupine gnaws on the same tree (for example, pine, maple, or elm) for several days. In spring, it feasts on flowers and delicate leaves on trees.

In autumn or early winter, mating season begins. Males at this time roam the forest, making high-pitched falsetto sounds. After 7 months of pregnancy in April - June, the female will give birth to a single cub, well developed, sighted and large. The body length of a newborn is more than 60 cm, weight is up to 560 g. Half an hour after the birth of the needles, the cub's needles are already hardening. From the first day of life, he follows his mother and shows all the typical defensive reactions well (on the 3rd–5th day he begins to click his teeth). Milk feeding is repeated frequently.

Sometimes it seems that Porcupine pulls out his own needles. But it's not. His needles sit (especially during the molting period) loosely and fall out without any effort. If the porcupine is alarmed or placed in a hopeless situation, he turns his rump towards the source of danger, raises his needles and tail, thus frightening the culprit of the disturbance, but does not attack himself. The main natural enemies are the fishing marten, lynx, puma.

Porcupine does not bring noticeable harm. And a little harm lies in damage to the bark or even ringing of trees, including some fruit and ornamental ones. Going occasionally to the fields with grain crops, he tramples more plants than he eats. Porcupine can gnaw through the wall of a tent looking for table lard and anything that has traces of salt or even human sweat on it; can gnaw on unattended ax handles, boat oars, saddles.

American porcupines (lat. Erethizontidae) - a miniature and funny copy of the real ones. Of course, they do not have such long needles on the back of their backs, but if they wish, they can still stand up for themselves: on the back and tail of animals there are sharp needles from 2.5 to 11 cm long, sometimes hidden among thick wool.

It is interesting that these same needles do not hold on too tightly and at the slightest danger the animal parted with them without much regret. At the same time, if the spines are not immediately removed, the wounds begin to inflame and cause a lot of trouble to a careless predator. However, this does not stop many who want to eat porcupine meat: bears, lynxes, foxes, wolves, coyotes and mustelids. Moreover, some species, such as the North American porcupine, generally hid their own spines under a thick coat.

In general, there are about 12 (according to other sources 23) species of American porcupines, grouped into four genera. All of them are found in the New World. Moreover, most of them live in the territory from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, and only one of them (the same fluffy North American porcupine) settled in North America.

American porcupines live in dense forests and are very fond of climbing trees - it is not for nothing that the second name of this glorious family sounds like tree porcupines or tree porcupines. Some species even have a long tenacious 45-cm tail for this, with which they deftly hold on to tree branches. However, not everyone can boast of such a device.

But all American porcupines, without exception, have sharp claws. With their help, they can climb to the very top of the vending tree. Here the animals eat leaves, bark, nuts, acorns, various berries, and also gnaw on branches and sometimes just rest. The dwelling is arranged in hollows or at the roots of trees, but they can also live in crevices of rocks or in caves.

Tree porcupines are active at night. Some of them like loneliness, while others prefer to live in pairs. These representatives of the order of rodents, unlike their counterparts, do not breed very intensively: the female brings only one cub per year. Very rarely there are two, three or even four babies, but this is rather an exception to the rule.

But newborns are born sighted and well developed: although they will not have needles for another three weeks, they are now able to climb trees and follow their mother everywhere. She will not offend her little ones, and her impressive dimensions (18 kg with a body length of 45-86 cm) multiplied by the instinct to protect offspring make the female porcupine a very serious opponent. In case of danger, she not only releases needles, but also bites, scratches, and also beats the enemy with a strong tail with jagged needles.

The life span of American porcupines is not so long - only three years, and even then, if you can avoid the paws of voracious predators or a human gun. The locals have always loved the meat of these animals. However, these cute animals are not yet threatened with extinction.