Porcupines are a prickly animal neighbor
- Meghan McMahon
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
Just like neighbors may move in and out of your neighborhood, some animals do the same. About 200 years ago, it would have been common in Illinois to see a large rodent with sharp spikes all over its back. If you’re thinking of the porcupine, you’re right! Below are some quick facts about our quilled friends.
Ancient origins
The porcupine you might be familiar with is the North American porcupine, also called the Canadian or common porcupine. Scientists call it Erethizon dorsatum.
As you might have guessed from the name, this is the only species of porcupine found in the United States. However, there are many kinds of porcupines found all over the world, including South America, Europe and Africa.
Scientists have classified groups of porcupines into “Old World” and “New World.” This is because about 30 million ago, some porcupines wandered over to the western hemisphere (the half of the world that contains North and South America) from Africa.
In all that time, both groups of porcupines have evolved into different species. In fact, the Old World porcupines, those living in Europe and Africa, are now only distantly related to the New World porcupines. Learn about how scientists categorize animals.
There are at least a dozen New World species of porcupines living in South America, but only one decided the United States and Canada was the perfect home: the North American porcupine.
Habitats and hangouts
Porcupines can be found in forested habitats. They can find all their favorite foods there, including twigs, roots, seeds, grasses, berries, leaves in the summertime and conifer needles and bark in the winter.
Words to know
Conifer: A tree that bears cones or needle-like leaves.
Evolve: To develop or make changes gradually.
Modify: To make changes to something so as to improve it or make it less extreme.
Stocky: Broad and sturdily built.
Forests also provide enough ground cover for homes as well as the porcupine’s favorite hangout spot — tree branches! Their ability to climb provides them with a way to get additional food and stay safe from most predators.
As more and more people settled in Illinois, more and more forests were cleared for farmland. Because of this, porcupines no longer have enough habitat to call the state home. Today, you can find porcupines in neighboring states like Wisconsin and Michigan; northeastern states; western states; and Canada.
Rodents of usual size
In general, the porcupine is one of the largest rodents in the world, taking third place after the capybara and beaver. Here in the United States, they are the second largest rodent, weighing between 7 pounds and 40 pounds! These stocky critters also measure 2 feet in length and have a tail that can add an additional 5 inches to 11 inches to that length.
The common porcupine is usually dark brown or black with white highlights. This contrasting coloring allows other animals to see the porcupine better at night. The most noteworthy part of a porcupine’s outward appearance is, of course, its quills!
A sharp defense
Porcupines have one of nature’s best defenses: quills. Quills are modified hairs that grow on the porcupine, just like fur on a bear or feathers on a bird. These quills are hollow like a straw, sharp and barbed at the end, just like a fishing hook. This barb is what makes the quill stick into a predator and what makes it so painful to pull out!
Speaking of predators, porcupines use their quills to protect themselves from fishers, wolverines, coyotes, wolves, black bears, cougars and humans. And maybe your curious dogs who look a little bit too much like their wild relatives!
Despite what cartoons may suggest, a porcupine cannot shoot quills from its back at will. Instead, when confronted, a porcupine will clack its large orange teeth, swing its tail and emit a strong odor similar to human body odor. This odor is distributed by the quills growing on the odor-producing patch of skin.
Finally, when it feels threatened, a porcupine’s muscles contract, which causes the quills to stand up instead of lying flat against the body. This extra-pointy stance makes it easier for the quills to fall out, which is probably where the rumor of shooting quills got started!
Final points
With about 30,000 quills on their body (minus the underbelly, face and feet) you might be wondering: Do the porcupines ever hurt themselves? The answer is sort of. Most of the time, quills lay flat against the body of the porcupine, but what happens if a porcupine falls out of a tree? Porcupine quills have a special coating with antibiotic properties that prevent against infection.
Being prickly means porcupines have an excellent defense, but it also means they tend to live alone. However, porcupines will mate in the fall, and in the spring females will give birth to just one baby porcupine, called a porcupette! Mother and baby will stay together until the fall. A porcupette’s quills are soft for the first few days of life but quickly harden.
Finally, we know that porcupines were here in Illinois a few different ways. Scientists have dug up bones. Early settlers have recorded seeing or interacting with the animal. Lastly, there are examples of beautiful quillwork, or art and decoration using quills, both as tradition for Great Lakes area Indigenous peoples and modern examples today!