COVERING ON THE BODY OF VERTEBRATES BY MS. BINDU

                         

Porcupine Facts

Porcupines are classified as mammals and rodents. They are also called “quill pigs” which is what their name means in Latin. There are about two dozen species of porcupine and most of these live in the deciduous and coniferous forests of North America and Canada. They are nocturnal animals that are active primarily at night and live up to 18 years. Keep reading for more interesting porcupine facts.

• When not in trees or feeding, porcupines prefer the protection of a den. Dens can be found in rock crevices, caves, hollow logs, abandoned mines, and even under houses and barns. When porcupines are on the ground, they shuffle and waddle along.
• They are short, fat, and covered with as many as 30,000 spiny quills. All porcupines have quills. Africa’s crested porcupine has quills that are nearly a foot long (30 cm). Porcupines have soft hair, but on their back, sides, and tail it is usually mixed with sharp quills. The quills lie flat, but will spring up if the porcupine is threatened.
• The porcupine cannot shoot its quills at a predator, but the quills will detach from the porcupine relatively easily. An animal that attacks a porcupine will usually end up with a face full of quills.
• Quills have sharp tips and overlapping scales or barbs that make them difficult to remove once they are stuck in another animal’s skin. Porcupines grow new quills to replace the ones they lose.
• From the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, a porcupine can be from 33 to 46 inches (80 to 115 cm) long. They can weigh from 12 to 35 lbs (5 to 16 kg).
• Porcupines make shrill screeches, whines, and low grunts to communicate.