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The Porcupine is the second largest rodent found in Canada next to the Beaver. Males can reach to 90 cm total length and weigh up to 12 kg.
It is a common inhabitant of both deciduous and coniferous forests. These sluggish, docile creatures were thought to hurl their quills at an adversary, but they only turn away and lashes out with their spiny tail. Porcupines are excellent climbers and will head for the nearest tree if startled. Due to the hooked structure of the quills, it is far more damaging to rip the embedded quills from tissue than it is to push the quill out the other side.
Despite the porcupine's imposing defenses, many carnivores, including bobcats, wolverines, and fishers, feed on it, which makes it a vital link in the food chain. Porcupines are herbivorous by nature, preferring to feed on the inner bark of trees as well as herbaceous vegetation. Primarily nocturnal, porcupines are active year round.
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PORCUPINE
(Family Erethizontidae)
American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) |
