Porcupines
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Porcupine Links Porcupines WNR Magazine - Porcupines
Porcupines African
Crested Porcupines Porcupines Porcupines; Order: rodent. A
porcupine's
habitat and range: forests, deserts, and grasslands of North and
South
America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Porcupines can weigh from 2 to 60
pounds
depending on the species. A prickly coat of needle-sharp quills is
the
porcupine's best defense. Ordinarily the quills lay flat. But if an
enemy
approaches the porcupine will raise the quills and spread them,
usually
deterring the enemy. If the animal is not deterred the quills may
lodge in the
enemy's flesh when the porcupine brushes against the animal. New
quills grow in
to relace the lost ones. The porcupine cannot throw its
quills. There are two
groups of porcupines. They differ in habits and
appearance. The porcupines of
the Americas also climb trees. Some have been
seen using their tails to hold on
to branches. In the winter the North
American porcupine eats evergreen needles
and bark. When spring arrives they
feed on leaves, buds, stems, and fruit.
Depending on the species, the
gestation period is from 2 to 7 months, bearing 1
to 4 young. The life span
of captive porcupines can be as much as 20 years. The
Future of the
Porcupine They are nearsighted, have a deep red shine to their
eyes, and four
toes on each front foot and five toes on each hind foot. But,
apparently,
looking different does not stop porcupines from being the most
popular
animals at the Museum. The habitat is home to two resident porcupines,
who
are aptly named Cactus and Lance. From the February 1996 issue:
Wisconsin's
prickly rodent The misunderstood porcupine is a boon to the
Northwoods. Alan D.
Martin The common porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is a
wonderful, necessary
member of Northwoods wildlife, and I'm glad it is here
in large numbers. Throw
stones if you want, but I'll stand by porkies. They
kill trees, you say? Well,
owls, wood ducks, hooded mergansers and
woodpeckers need homes too, and
porcupines are part of nature's snag-making
team. Porcupines hurt my dog, you
say? Well, most dogs learn from that first
painful mistake and don't go near
porcupines again. Only one of my family's
six hunting dogs hasn't gotten a
snootful of quills in recent years, and only
one needed a second dose to learn
the lesson. The other grousers now bark,
from a distance, at the quill-pig.
Because of such mishaps, some
porcupines are shot on sight. That's a real shame
because the porky isn't
only the prickliest resident of the Northwoods, it's
also one of the most
interesting. Porkies are the second-largest rodent in
Wisconsin after the
North American beaver. They can weigh 30 pounds or more in
summer but their
weight drops dramatically during the lean months of winter.
Porcupines
live in the northern two-thirds of the state in a territory that
extends in a
V-shape from about the Ellsworth area in Pierce County down to
Wisconsin
Dells and back up toward Green Bay. Porcupines, like most rodents,
are
vegetarians. Their winter diet consists of conifer needles, buds and the
bark of
pines, hemlock, maples and birch. How these critters survive on foods
with a
protein content of only two to three percent is truly amazing.
Porcupines are
sloppy eaters who drop a lot of greenery that provides a
welcome snack for
white-tailed deer during deep snows. If you spot a small
pile of freshly-snipped
branches on a winter walk, it's likely porcupines are
nearby. Their winter dens
are easy to find -- just follow your eyes and nose.
Porcupines winter in caves
and hollow logs. They travel the same paths every
day. Near their dens you'll
see distinctive fecal piles and smell the strong
scent of concentrated urine. In
spring, abundant food allows the porcupines
to roam more freely, and they grow
fat and healthy while dozing in the dog
days of summer. Porkies consume tender
shoots, succulent twigs, roots, seeds
and (often to the dismay of gardeners)
apples, melons, carrots, potatoes and
other juicy produce. Nor are the
gardener's tools immune to the porcupine's
gouging incisors. The animals need
sodium to rid their bodies of high levels
of potassium from leaves and bark. Axe
handles, hoes, canoe paddles, gloves
and anything else touched by salty human
hands are porcupine magnets. When
defending itself, a porcupine sits very still,
faces away from its enemy,
raises up, bristles and rattles its quill-studded
tail, protecting vital
areas from potential predators with up to 30,000 barbed
quills. Although
porkies are slow, ambling creatures, it's not always easy to
keep your
distance. A deer-hunting friend of mine still talks about his
close
encounter. Gary was sitting in his tree stand one day when a
young-of-the-year
porcupine climbed up the same tree and took a seat directly
adjacent to Gary's
face. He was kind of cute (the baby porky, that is), as he
sat there making
little noises with his teeth and watching this newcomer to
the tree. Somehow
Gary didn't find much to admire. He just kept a real
close eye on the porky's
tail and slowly, calmly eased out of his stand and
made his way down the tree.
His heart was pounding pretty hard as he
reached the ground and looked up at the
porky still perched on a branch. Only
one predator poses a significant threat to
porcupines -- the fisher. These
large weasels will wait for the right moment and
inflict quick bites to the
porcupine's face and nose, areas that can take little
abuse before the injury
is fatal. The porcupine is relatively silent throughout
its life, so many
people don't recognize the whining squeal that sounds like a
cross between a
piglet and a crying baby. The sound varies in pitch and is most
often heard
in areas with rocky knobs and a good mix of conifers and hardwoods
-- prime
porcupine habitat. Native Americans had both respect and use for
the
porcupine. Its quills were incorporated in elaborate embroidered pieces,
baskets
and artwork. Porcupine quills were bartered and traded with plains
tribes who
had less frequent contact with the woodland creature. So keep an
eye out for the
barbed quill-pig of the woods on your next winter walk. And
if one finds you,
show some
respect.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About
the author Alan D. Martin writes from Caledonia, Wis. African
Crested
Porcupines These 5 week-old babies love their ba-ba but also
ALREADY eat solid
foods. There are two families or porcupines, Hystricidae
(Old World Porcupines)
and Erethizontidae (New World Porcupines). There are
many similarities between
the two families, but for this text, we will
consider only the African Crested
Porcupine. They inhabit deserts,
grasslands and adjoining forests. Order:
Rodentia Family: Hystricidae
Genus: Hystrix Species: Cristata or
Africaeaustralis They have a stocky
body with short legs. Their body, head and
tail are covered with a coating of
hair and a variety of bristles and quills.
The africaeaustralis is larger
with longer, heavier quills. Their quills are not
barbed as they are in the
New World Porcupines. The quills are of varying length
and diameter but some
of these quills can be as long as 15 inches and 3/8"
in diameter. They have
the ability to rattle their quills when alarmed. This
species has rattle
quills in its tail that are larger and hollow on the end
furthest from the
body. These quills are hollow and produce a hissing rattle
when the tail is
vibrated. If you wish to purchase some quills see Quills For
Sale. Their
tail is short in comparison to other porcupines. They have four
clawed digits
on the forefeet and five digits on the hind feet. Their dentition
is i1/1,
c0/0, p1/1, m3/3 x 2 for a total of 20 teeth. They are black in color
with
white rings on the quills and a crest on the head. Their normal
body
temperature is 99-100 degrees F. Females have 2-3 pairs of teats in two
rows
located just behind the shoulders, on the side of the chest. The male
has no
external scrotum. The penis can be palpated through the skin in the
area just
anterior to the anus. Breeding normally takes place from March to
December in
the wild but in captivity, it takes place all year round. Their
estrus cycle is
about 35 days and gestation is from 93 to 112 days. The
litter can be from one
to four can be two babies. They are born with their
eyes open and soft quills.
The mother is very dedicated and will protect
her baby with great ferocity. They
weigh 12 oz. at birth and nurse for about
3-1/2 months. Sexual maturity is at 9
to 18 months. Mating can understandably
be quite a ritual. The female must be
receptive or she will act very
aggressively towards a courting male. If she is
receptive, the male begins by
standing motionless in front of the female. He
approaches her and retreats
back and forth over and over making vocalizations to
her. When she decides
the time is right, she put her tail up and he mounts by
clasping her sides
with his front paws and balancing on his hind feet. They are
mainly
terrestrial and nocturnal in habit. They inhabit crevices, caves or
burrows,
mostly dug by other animals. They usually drag leaf and plant material
into
their nest. In the wild they eat vegetable matter and some carrion.
They
enjoy gnawing trees, bushes and bones. They shuffle as they run and can
gallop
if necessary. They are good swimmers and can climb if necessary. This
species
has quills that are used as ornaments and talismans. They hunted for
their meat
and are considered agricultural pests in many areas where they
damage crops and
trees by chewing the bark. The New World porcupines have an
average live span of
10 years while Old World porcupines live an average
of 20 years. Although these
animals usually forage alone, they may be found
in small family groups in their
den. In captivity Enclosures for captive
adult animals should be have no more
than 2" x 4" openings, and should
prevent escape by climbing, by using
a cover. Provide a place they can hide,
like a dog igloo or tunnel made of wood.
Or stack hay bales up to form a
wall in an inside enclosure. Avid chewers they
will prune anything possible.
Feeding 1/2 cup monkey chow 1/2 cup dog food 1/4
cup sweet horse feed 1/2 cup
rodent block 2 tbs. sunflower seeds 1/4 cup cracked
corn Fresh
vegetables/fruits: carrots, sweet potatoes, cabbage, greens, apples,
pears,
etc. Free choice hay and non-toxic branches (willow, birch, etc.)
Purina
Lagomorph, Purina Mazuri Browser and Purina Mazuri Omnivore Zoo A
Diets and
rodent block can be added. The browser diet is a good source of the
type of
fiber the porcupine eats in the wild This mom has two new babies.
Their bodies
are about the size of a goose egg when born. We hesitate to list
quantities
because individuals vary according to size, sex, maturity,
activity level, stage
of pregnancy or lactation. Use this only as a guide,
and monitor the animals
weight and appetite. If the animal is gaining too
much weight, reduce the
portion of food across the board, not one or two
items. Pregnant or nursing
mothers will need a larger portion, sometimes 2-3
times the normal diet for that
individual. Porcupines have a craving for salt
and will gnaw on anything that
may contain it such as worn gloves, shovel
handles, etc. Furnish them with trace
mineral salt sprinkled on their food or
provide a trace mineral salt block. Be
sure that they are not consuming too
much salt if you put in a block. In
addition to the normal diet, all rodents
MUST have something non-toxic to chew
on such as willow or birch branches.
Check with your county extension agent or
poison control center if you wish
to feed branches from trees you do not know
are absolutely safe. If they do
not have chewies, their teeth will not wear down
properly and can grow
extremely long causing injury to the roof of their mouth
and other mouth
parts. Infants can be hand-reared using Esbilac with added
vitamins. At one
week of age, we blend in one cup of cooked, peeled sweet potato
per quart of
Esbilac. We mix the Esbilac 1 part powder to 2 parts water. We use
a cross
cut nipple to handle the thicker liquid. Be sure to eliminate any lumps
or
the nipple will get clogged. They should be kept at 75 degrees F. Feed
every
three hours until 3 weeks old, day and night. The next two weeks
increase
feedings, and decrease number of times per day, eliminating night
feedings. From
three days of age, offer solids including grass hay, romaine
lettuce, grains,
bread, rodent pellets, bark, roots, nuts, berries, fruits.
When eating well, at
about 10 weeks, eliminate milk. A slip nylon collar can
be used as a guide from
1 to 2 weeks of age. Be certain that the baby is
getting proper air and above
all - be gentle! Some babies are slightly more
resistant to handling. On these
babies or ones we leave with the parents
until 2 weeks, we pick up the baby with
a doubled bath towel and cradle it
with its feet pointing downwards and its head
level. Offer the nipple. If it
does not take the nipple, insert it into the
mouth between the incisors and
molars and rub it against the roof of the mouth.