Quill Pig Facts

Quill Pig Facts

1. Porcupines are fascinating creatures. Their scientific name means "the irritable back," but with teeth like a beaver, feet like a bear, claws like a badger, fur like sheep’s wool, and spines like a pincushion, the porcupine almost de? es description.

2. The porcupine is the prickliest of rodents. Its name means "quill pig" in Latin.

3. A rodent is an animal with two sharp, constantly growing incisor teeth.  These teeth are kept short by chewing. Rodents include rats, mice, hamsters.

4. Porcupines are found on the continents of Asia, Europe, Africa, and North and South America.They are generally restricted to warm and tropical regions.

5. There are about 24 porcupine species, and all have a coat of needle­like quills. (Quills are spines).

6. Porcupines have soft hair, but on their back, sides, and tail it is usually mixed with sharp quills.

7. These quills typically lie flat until a porcupine is threatened.

8. Quills have sharp tips and overlapping scales or barbs that make them difficult to remove once they are stuck in another animal‘s skin.

9. The porcupines found in North and South America are good climbers and spend much of their time in trees. Some even have gripping tails to help with climbing.

10. The North American porcupine is the only species that lives in the U.S. and Canada. It is the largest of all porcupines.

11. North American porcupines use their large front teeth to satisfy a healthy appetite for wood. They also eat fruit, leaves, and springtime buds.

12. Other porcupine species live in Africa, Europe, and Asia. These animals usually live on the ground in deserts, grasslands, and forests.

13. Porcupines are difficult to find during daytime, as they love to sleep then.

14. Burrows for shelter during the day are usually self constructed, with a long entrance tunnel, multiple exits and a large inner chamber.

15. They also chew on bones to cover their need of Calcium that helps to make their spines grow.

16. As herbivores, their foraging helps spread pollen and seeds.

17. The Porcupine looks most like a prickly beaver! Its long strands of brown hair looks soft, but thousands of quills are tucked inside. The longest quills are found on their back and behind, while the shortest ones are on their face. Each quill is hollow - it is yellowish in colour, with a black tip and is covered in tiny barbs. Roughly 30,000 quills cover the whole body except for the stomach, nose and bottom of their feet. 

18. The porcupine has a small face, small ears, short legs and a thick, small tail. Its flat feet and sharp, rounded claws make it well adapted to climbing trees. Porcupines rely heavily on smell as they are short-sighted.

19. When baby porcupines are born their quills are soft, but within an hour they harden.

20. They stay close to home leaving their dens for food -porcupines eat a variety of shrubs, bark, water plants and they love anything salty.

21. A peaceful animal, the porcupine will try to run away if it feels there’s danger. They’ll make loud chattering noises as a warning for predators to leave. If they can’t get away, their muscles tighten forcing their quills to come out. It will tuck its head in, lean forward and thump its back feet while swinging its tail as a warning. Sometimes loose quills fly out of the tail or if a predator tries to get too close, the quills will stick them. The quills are an amazing defense mechanism - when they get lodged in the skin, body heat makes the barbs swell, making it even harder and more painful to pull them out.

22. Animals like bears, bobcats, lynx, wolves and coyotes have also been known to be big predators, but the biggest of them all is the fisher. Thought of as the “expert” in hunting porcupines, the fisher will flip its prey onto its back to avoid getting pricked by the sharp quills.

23. But the interesting thing about quills is that they are coated with antibiotic fatty acids that help speed up the healing process. Why? To protect the porcupine in case it accidentally pierces its own skin. A porcupine’s quills will grow back after losing them, but it does take several months.

24. In the wild, prehensile-tailed porcupines can be pretty tough. They have been known to bite and hit those who attack or try to capture them. They stamp their hind feet when excited and curl up in a ball if caught. They also sit on their haunches, shake their spines, and emit both deep growls and high-pitched cries.

25. Prehensile-tailed porcupines are used as food in many parts of South America.

26. Porcupines utter a variety of human-like sounds including mumbles, murmurs, moans, grunts, hisses, and whines. They “sing” in a pitiful, high-pitched whine.

27. Porcupines are expert tree climbers. They go up a tree head-first and back down. They choose different trees for feeding and for resting.

28. They are covered in more than 30,000 needle-sharp quills which form a protective body armor.  As many as 140 quills grow from each square inch of skin.  Only the nose, legs, and underside are unprotected. When a porcupine is relaxed, the quills lie flat.  When disturbed, the quills stand erect. Each quill is under individual muscle control and can be raised or lowered instantly.

29. At birth baby porcupines weigh about one pound and are larger than newborn black bears.

30. Within a day after birth, the young can feel from danger, and in a week they no longer need food from their mother. Porcupines may live more than 10 years under natural conditions.

31. Porcupines are the second largest rodent in North America.  Only beavers are larger.

32. The average day’s meal for an adult porcupine is a patch of bark about the size of a sheet of paper.

33. Porcupines have poor eyesight and rely on their ability to hear and smell.

34. Porcupines are especially fond of salt.  They will chew on wooden tool handles, footwear, or anything that has absorbed perspiration.

35. The Indian Crested Porcupines are nocturnal and seek shelter in caves, between rocks, or in its burrow during the day.