North American Porcupine - Erethizon dorsatum Classification

Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Erethizontidae Characteristics Genus: Erethizon Range Habitat Diet Life Cycle Behavior

ICUN Redlist - World Status: Least Concern Characteristics Habitat The North American porcupine is a rodent. It The North American porcupine lives in coniferous, deciduous and has black to brownish- mixed forests. In the west, it can be found in scrubby areas. yellow fur and strong, short legs. It has hairless Diet soles on its feet that help The porcupine is an it climb trees. It has a herbivore. It eats leaves, round body, small ears twigs and green plants like and a small head. The skunk cabbage and clover. most recognizable feature In the winter, it may eat of the porcupine is its bark. It often climbs trees quills. A porcupine may to find food. It is mostly have as many as 30,000 nocturnal, but will quills. The quills are hairs sometimes forage for food with barbed tips on the in the day. ends. Quills are solid at the tip and base and hollow for most of the Life Cycle shaft. The porcupine has quills on all parts of its body, except for its Porcupines mate in late stomach. The longest quills are on its rump. The shortest quills are summer and early fall. on its cheeks. Porcupines are very vocal during mating season. The porcupine uses its Males often fight over quills for defense. The females. The male porcupine cannot shoot performs an elaborate its quills. When a dance and sprays urine predator approaches, the over the head of the porcupine will turn its female. Seven months back, raise the quills and after mating the female lash out at the threat with gives birth to a single its tail. If the porcupine baby. When the baby is hits an animal with its born, its quills are soft. quills, the quills become They harden about an embedded in the animal. hour after birth. The baby Body heat makes the is begins to forage for food after only a couple of days. The baby will barbs expand and they stay with its mother for about six months. become even more deeply embedded in the animal's Behavior skin. If an animal is hit in a vital place it may die. The porcupine is The North American not an aggressive animal. It will only attack if it is threatened. Some porcupine is a solitary animals, like the fisher, are experts at attacking porcupines. animal, although it may den with other Range porcupines in the winter. The North American porcupine can It makes its den in caves, be found in most of Canada and decaying logs and hollow the western United States south to trees. The North Mexico. In the eastern United American porcupine States, it can be found in doesn't hibernate, but it Wisconsin, Michigan, may stay in its den during Pennsylvania, New York and New bad weather. The North England. American porcupine is a good swimmer, its hollow quills help keep it afloat. It is also an excellent tree-climber and spends much of its time in trees. It is a very vocal animal and has a wide-variety of calls including moans, grunts, coughs, wails, whines, shrieks and tooth clicking.