The quills are a defensive adaptation to protect the porcupine from predators. The quills are coated with keratin, the same natural material out of which our nails are made! Photo: Kati Fleming, CC BY-SA 3.0Ī porcupine’s quills are modified hairs that are embedded in the muscles of the skin. Porcupine Quill Facts Close up of a Cape porcupine’s quills. Some Old World porcupines may occasionally supplement their plant-based diet with insects and small vertebrates such as lizards. This helps keep the porcupine’s teeth sharp and also supplies them with minerals. Their diet consists of vegetation such as grass, leaves, fruits, nuts, seeds and buds. Porcupines mature between nine months and 2.5 years of age, depending on species. Porcupines are born with their eyes open and have soft quills which take from a few hours to several days to harden. A baby porcupine is called a “porcupette”. The gestation period can last anywhere from 16 to 31 weeks, depending on the species.Ī family group consisting of a mother and her young is called a “prickle”. Male porcupines are extremely vocal during the mating season, when they fight over mating rights to females.įemale porcupines give birth to litters of between one and three young, typically once per year. Porcupines aren’t very social and spend most of their time on their own. In captivity, some have lived to be as old as 20! Porcupines have an average lifespan of 15 years in the wild. New World porcupines may also be active during the day.Īll porcupines have an acute sense of smell. (Unlike porcupines, which are rodents (members of the order Rodentia), hedgehogs belong to the order Eulipotyphla.) Porcupines are not closely related to hedgehogs, despite the spiny appearance of both groups of animals. The name “porcupine” is derived from the Latin words for “pig” and “spine”. The North American porcupine is the largest rodent in North America, and the fourth-largest in the world, after the capybara and the North American and Eurasian beavers.Ī porcupine’s quills are actually modified hairs! The largest porcupine is the North American porcupine Erethizon dorsatum, a member of the New World porcupine family. The North American porcupine is often seen in trees. Whereas Old World porcupines are mainly terrestrial (ground-dwelling), New World porcupines tend to be more arboreal (tree-dwelling). You can find out more about this species on this page: North American Porcupine Facts.It is the only porcupine found in the USA and Canada. The North American porcupine is found in temperate forests and shrublands as far north as southern Canada and parts of Alaska. Most New World porcupines are found in the tropical forests of South and Central America. Old World porcupines inhabit a range of habitats, including forests, rocky areas and deserts. Most New World species are found in South America, although some are found in Central and North America. Old World porcupines are found in Europe, Asia and Africa. The crested porcupine is an Old World species found in parts of Africa and Italy. The similarities in their appearance are due to convergent evolution (the process in which unrelated species develop similar characteristics independently of each other). The two porcupine families are not closely related. There are 30 species of porcupine divided between two families: Hystricidae (Old World porcupines) and Erethizontidae (New World porcupines). Pictures & Facts On The Iconic Animals Of North America, With FREE Printable WorksheetĪ porcupine is a large rodent with a distinctive coat of protective quills.
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