A slow-moving herbivore armored with about 30,000 quills — modified hairs with microscopic barbs that anchor in flesh on contact. Despite the lore, porcupines do NOT throw quills.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The North American porcupine, also known as the Canadian porcupine, is a large quill-covered rodent in the New World porcupine family. It is the second largest rodent in North America after the North American beaver. The porcupine is a caviomorph rodent whose ancestors were believed to have crossed the Atlantic from Africa to Brazil 30 million years ago, and then migrated to North America during the Great American Interchange after the Isthmus of Panama rose 3 million years ago.
Source: Wikipedia — North American porcupine Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Round body covered in 30,000+ sharp barbed quills mixed with longer guard hairs. Dark brown to black; quills white-tipped.
Similar species. Beaver (no quills). No other US mammal looks similar.
Voice. Wide vocal range: grunts, whines, snarls, screams.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Bark, twigs, leaves, buds, aquatic plants. Salt-craving; chews salt-coated objects.
Behavior. Solitary and arboreal — spends much of life in trees. Defensive quills detach easily on contact (do NOT shoot quills).
§ Range
Most of Canada, Alaska, and the northern US; into Mexico
§ Habitat
Forested areas, especially with hemlock, pine, willow
§ Threats
Vehicle strikes, persecution by farmers (despite minimal real damage), declining due to fishers (their main predator) recovering.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the north american porcupine is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Drive carefully on rural roads. Don't persecute porcupines. Use predator-friendly forestry to support balanced ecosystems.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — North American porcupine
- www.nwf.org — authoritative profile of Erethizon dorsatum
- IUCN Red List · taxon 8004
- iNaturalist · taxon 42953
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Erethizon dorsatum
§ Sources cited
- NWF Wildlife Guide
- National Park Service
- The Quill Pig Project
- IUCN Red List 2016
