PORCUPINE

PORCUPINE

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* Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that protect against predators.

* Porcupines occupy a short range of habitats in tropical and temperate parts of Asia, Southern Europe, Africa, and North and South America.

* They live in forests and deserts, and on rocky outcrops and hillsides. Some New World porcupines live in trees, but Old World porcupines stay on the rocks.

* Porcupines can be found on rocky areas up to 3,700 m (12,100 ft) high. They are generally nocturnal, but are occasionally active during daylight.

DIET

* The North American porcupine is a herbivore; it eats leaves, herbs, twigs, and green plants such as clover. In the winter, it may eat bark. It often climbs trees to find food.

* The African porcupine is not a climber and forages on the ground. It is mostly nocturnal, but will sometimes forage for food in the day, eating bark, roots, fruits and berries, as well as farm crops. Porcupines have become a pest in Kenya and are eaten as a delicacy.

DEFENCE

* Defence behaviour displays in a porcupine depend on sight, scent and sound. Often, displays are shown when a porcupine becomes agitated or annoyed.

* There are four main displays seen in a porcupine which are quill erection, teeth clattering, emitting of odour, and attack.

* These displays are ranked from least aggressive to most aggressive respectively. A porcupine's colouring aids in part of its defence as most of the predators are nocturnal and colour blind.

* A porcupine’s markings are black and white. The dark body and coarse hair of the porcupine are a dark brown/black and when quills are raised, present a white strip down its back mimicking the look of a skunk. This, along with the raising of the sharp quills, deters predators.

* Along with the raising of the quills, porcupines clatter their teeth causing warning noise to let predators know not to come closer.

* The incisors vibrate against each other, the strike zone shifts back and the cheek teeth clatter. This behaviour is often paired with body shivering which is used to further display the dangerous quills. The rattling of quills is aided by the hollow quills at the back end of the porcupine.

* The use of odor is when the sight and sound have failed. An invasive scent is produced from the skin above the tail in times of stress, and is often seen with quill erection.

* If the above processes fail, the porcupine will attack by running sideways or backwards into predators. A porcupines tail is also able to swing in the direction of prey. If contact is made, the quills could be impaled into the predator causing injury or death

THEN WHAT YOU MEAN BY QUILLS

* Porcupines' quills, or spines, take on various forms, depending on the species, but all are modified hairs coated with thick plates of keratin, and embedded in the skin  musculature.

* Quills are released by contact or may drop out when the porcupine shakes its body. New quills grow to replace lost ones.

* Porcupines were long believed to have the ability to project their quills to a considerable distance at an enemy.