North American Porcupine

Description:

"The porcupine is the only native North American mammal with antibiotics in its skin. Those antibiotics prevent infection when a porcupine falls out of a tree and is stuck with its own quills upon hitting the ground. Porcupines fall out of trees fairly often because they are highly tempted by the tender buds and twigs at the ends of the branches."

Notes:

I heard a loud squealing in my yard and discovered this porcupine scrambling down a tree with another one higher up in the branches. Looking closer at the porcupine making all the noise I noticed quills bristling out of one side of his face. I think he took a swipe of the tail from the other porcupine.