Quill pig

Moving from forest cache to forest cache

1. The porcupine Latin name means “quill pig”. It’s the prickliest of rodents.
2. The derivation of the word “porcupine” can be traced back to Old English and French. It’s a derivative of the Middle French word “porc d’espine”, meaning “thorny pig.” While Middle English alternatives include “porcupyne” and “porcapyne.”
3. Porcupines boast of a coat of needle-like quills, giving predators a snappy reminder that this animal is no easy meal

4. Porcupines are divided into two groups: Old World porcupines, found in Africa, Europe, and Asia, and New World porcupines, found in North, Central, and South America.
5. The only species found in the United States and Canada is the North American porcupine.
6. They’ve got soft hair, only their back, sides, and tail are usually mixed with sharp quills.

7. These quills usually lie flat until a porcupine is in danger when they come to attention as a persuasive warning.
8. Some quills are nearly a foot long, like those of Africa’s crested porcupine.
9. It once was though that porcupines could shoot quills at predators, the truth is of course, they can’t, but their quills can easily be detached.

10. Many animals after a porcupine encounter come out with quills stuck on their snouts or bodies.
11. It’s difficult to remove quills once they are stuck in another animal’s skin because of their sharp tips and overlapping scales or barbs.
12. Porcupines grow new quills to substitute the ones they lose.
13. A porcupines’ attack will not lead to infection because each quill has a topical antibiotic. This is very unusual having in mind that they use their quills as their only defense mechanism. It’s probably a way to prevent infection from accidental self-quilling.
14. North and South America’s porcupines are good climbers and spend much of their time in trees. Some even have gripping tails to assist them in climbing.
15. A single porcupine may have 30,000 or more quills

16. North American porcupines satisfy their healthy appetite for wood with their large front teeth.
17. They eat natural bark and stems and even chew on canoe paddles. The North American porcupines also eat fruit, leaves, and springtime blossoms.
18. Porcupines that live on the ground and inhabit deserts, grasslands, and forests are the ones in Africa, Europe, and Asia.
19. Depending on the species female porcupines have between one and four offspring.
20. At first, babies have soft quills but they harden within a few days