North American Porcupine
Instantly recognizable by its prickly appearance and known for its [mistaken] reputation of throwing dangerous barbed quills toward would-be attackers, porcupines are perhaps simultaneously one of North America's most and least well-known mammals. How well do you actually know this large rodent of the forest? Read on to find out, and to learn the official term for baby porcupines (which is probably my favorite fun fact about this amazing creature)! Members of the order Rodentia, North American Porcupines ( Erethizon dorsatum ) are North America's second-largest rodent, after the American Beaver. Measuring between 2 and 3 feet in length and weighing 20 pounds or more, they are fairly sizable mammals! As rodents, they are characterized by a set of strong, continually-growing incisors that must be worn down by daily gnawing on the plant material that makes up the entirety of their diet. Like beavers, these front teeth are orange in color, thanks t...
