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Porcupines are large, slow-moving rodents with sharp quills on their backs. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. Scientists group porcupines into two groups: Old World porcupines, which are found in Africa, Europe and Asia; and New World porcupines, which are found in North, Central, and South America. The North American porcupine is the only species found in the United States and Canada.
Interesting facts about them are as follows
- Porcupines are a mammal that is often considered a rodent.
- Porcupines are 2 to 3 feet long in their head and body. Their tails can be another 8 to 10 inches long.
- They weigh 12 to 35 pounds.
- To communicate they make grunts and high pitched noises.
- A group of porcupines is called a family.
- Porcupines have soft hair mixed with sharp quills.
-Porcupines are covered in quills all over their body except their belly, face, and feet.
ReplyDelete-On average, a porcupine has 30,000 quills.
-The quills stand up when a porcupine feels threatened and detach easily when touched.
-If a porcupine loses a quill, it grows a new one.
-A porcupine cannot shoot its quills.
-The quills have scales and barbs at the tips that make them hard to remove.
-The porcupine has natural antibiotics in its skin to prevent infection when it falls and gets stuck by its own quills.
-Porcupines release an odor to alert predators to their presence.
-Porcupines are herbivores that eat fruit, leaves, buds, and lots of wood, bark, and stems.
-The are great climbers that choose to rest in trees.
-On average porcupines live 5 to 7 years in the wild.
-Porcupines breed in the fall and have a 202 day gestation period!
-Baby porcupines are born with soft quills that harden with an hour. They can climb trees the same day they are born.
-Most babies set off on their own within a few months.
-Porcupines do not hibernate, but stick close to their dens during bad weather.
-They usually den in hollow trees or rocky areas.
-Porcupine predators include: wolverines, coyotes, martens, bears, cougars, eagles, owls, fishers, and humans.