Porcupine Facts
Porcupine Facts
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Porcupines are rodents. They live in America, Africa, Europe and Asia. Out of all porcupine species, only one (Philippine Porcupine) is listed as vulnerable. That means that it can become endangered in the near future. All porcupine species are similar at the first glance. They can live in deserts, grasslands or forests.
| Interesting Porcupine Facts: |
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| Body of the porcupine is covered with sharp spines or quills. |
| Some porcupines have up to 30,000 quills on their body. |
| Porcupines can't shoot out their quills, but they will be easily released when predators get it touch with animal. |
| Lost quills are replaced with new quills. |
| Porcupines are nocturnal animals. This means that they sleep during the day and become active in the evening. |
| They use their strong feet and curved claws to climb the tree. They are excellent climbers. |
| Porcupine's home is called a den. |
| They are herbivorous animals (eat only plants). They like to eat leaves, stem, bark, fruit… |
| They can live solitary life (left on their own) or in the small groups of up to 6 members. |
| During mating season, female initiates close contact with male. |
| Couple usually gets 2 babies and both parents take care of their babies. |
| Babies are called porcupettes and they are born with soft quills. Soft quills will harden in the next few hours. |
| Young porcupine will leave its parents after couple of months and begin solitary life. |
| Native Americans used porcupine's quills to decorate themselves in the past. They also used porcupines as a source of food. |
| Porcupines can live 15-18 years. |