North American Porcupine or Canadian Porcupine

Description:

Porcupines are usually dark brown or black in color, with white highlights. They have a chunky body, a small face, short legs and a short thick tail. They are up to 0.9 m long, and weigh up to 14 kg.[6] Their upper parts are covered with thousands of sharp, barbed hollow spines or quills, which are used for defense. Porcupines do not throw their quills, but the quills detach easily and the barbs make them difficult to remove once lodged in an attacker. The quills are normally flattened against the body unless the animal is disturbed. The porcupine also swings its quilled tail towards a perceived threat.

Habitat:

Spotted at Montréal Biodôme, Quebec, Canada

Notes:

Porcupines are mainly active at night; on summer days, they often rest in trees. During the summer, they eat twigs, roots, stems, berries and other vegetation. In the winter, they mainly eat conifer needles and tree bark. They do not hibernate but sleep a lot and stay close to their dens in winter. The strength of the porcupine's defense has given it the ability to live a solitary life, unlike many herbivores, which must move in flocks or herds. Porcupines breed in the fall and the young porcupine (usually one) is born in the spring, with soft quills that harden within a few hours after birth. When porcupines are mating, they tighten their skin and hold their quills flat, so as not to injure each other.