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 to an iron-rich enamel coating that strengthens them for the demanding task of chewing through wood and other tough vegetation. 

North American Porcupines are the only North American member of the family Erethizontidae, the New World Porcupines; all of their closest relatives, like the Prehensile-tailed Porcupine and Crested Porcupine, live farther south in Central and South America.

North American Porcupines are found in forested parts of Canada and Alaska, as well as the Northeastern, upper Midwestern and Western United States, where they inhabit coniferous and mixed forest habitats.  Porcupines are partially arboreal, comfortable in the trees as well as on the ground.  While they forage for food both on the ground and high in trees, it is in the trees that these typically slow-moving creatures seek safety from their predators.  Though porcupines are most often nocturnal or crepuscular, it's not too uncommon to see them out foraging during the day as well, especially during the winter.

Typically solitary animals, male and female porcupines are usually only seen together during the fall breeding season.  In the spring or early summer, females give birth to their young, which are called - wait for it - porcupettes.   (I love it!!)

Porcupines are entirely herbivorous, meaning their diet is comprised solely of plant matter.  But they are not picky, and consume a wide variety of vegetation, from leaves, twigs, berries and green plants to the inner bark (cambium) of trees, as well as roots, acorns and nuts.    

The long guard hairs that cover the bodies of North American Porcupines and give them their characteristic prickly punk-rocker appearance are not all quills; the defensive quills porcupines are so well-known for grow mainly on their tail and rump and are much shorter and stouter than the long guard hairs.  An individual porcupine possesses around 30,000 of these sturdy, barbed quills, which are used in defense against its many predators, of which the fisher is the most deadly.  

Contrary to popular belief, porcupines do not "throw" their quills.  When threatened, porcupines turn their well-protected backsides to their attacker, raise their quills and swish their tails back and forth, or back into their foe.  The quills detach very easily upon contact, so that predators (including off-leash dogs) that unwisely continue to pursue porcupines often come away with many of these barbed quills painfully embedded in their flesh.  But contact with a porcupine is required for this to occur, and a threatened porcupine is far more likely to run away from a potential predator than "attack."  

Encounters with mammals in the wild, like this porcupine in Northern California, are amazing, magical experiences.  But unfortunately, too often those who don't know better (but should) let the desire to get too close overrule good sense, putting both the animal and themselves in danger.  

So, every time I share photos of mammals, I feel that it's also necessary to share a few tips for watching mammals safely and responsibly.

The first tip may be the most important: Keep your distance.

25 yards (75 feet) is typically the recommended distance to stay back from most species of wildlife (though for large predators, like bears and wolves, that distance quite understandably increases to 100 yards.) 

Use binoculars, spotting scopes and zoom lenses to get those amazing up-close looks and shots.  You're NOT going to be able to photograph wildlife well with a phone camera; if you can, you're way too close.  The photo below shows how far away from this porcupine I actually was.

Keep quiet and still, moving slowly and keeping noise to a minimum.  If it's safe to do so, sit down and settle in to watch while making as little disturbance as possible.  These quiet moments are when the magic happens.

Don't disrupt the animal's normal activity.  The best indicator that you're not bothering an animal by watching it is when the animal continues to go about its business despite your presence.  Whether the animal is aware that you're there or not, a feeding animal is a content animal - and we want them to stay this way!  Let the animal go about its regular activities without showing signs of stress or anxiety as you watch quietly from a safe distance.  It's in these settings that we get to observe animals behaving naturally, in their natural environment - and isn't that the whole point?

NEVER attempt to feed a wild animal, or entice it closer with food or any other means, even if it's one of the animal's natural foods.  This is dangerous for humans and animals in so many ways, and it's just plain foolish and irresponsible.  Wild animals are not pets.  

Let wildlife go.  Once the animal is ready to move on away from you, let it.  Don't block its retreat to safety or continue to pursue it once it's clearly ready to leave the area.  Don't chase wildlife or make it run away from you!  This causes animals undue stress, forces them to expend valuable energy, and may drive them away from their territory, food or young.

Basically, watch quietly and respectfully and just let wildlife be wild. 

Once this porcupine was ready to leave, he (or she) shuffled slowly off toward the edge of the woods.  After taking a few more looks around, he disappeared into the dense spruce trees and we quietly took ourselves off in the opposite direction, so awed and thankful for this incredible wildlife encounter!