Cape porcupine

Description:

We observed this hapless porcupine during a night drive as he strayed right into the middle of a pride of lions.

Habitat:

Eastern Cape, SA

Notes:

Not a great photo but my only recognizable shot from the amazing night 'anti-poaching' patrol drives I was privileged to be a part of. This particular night we came across a small pride of lions (male, female & three 1 year old cubs) 'playing' with this porcupine like a house cat plays with a mouse. We watched them 'bat' this hapless little guy around (using red light so as not to disturb them) for about an hour until the lions eventually lost interest. The porcupine then wandered off & we all breathed a sigh of relief. He then inexplicably turned round & wandered straight back into the middle of the pride & backed his quills into the male lion's face! The whole process started again but this time the lions quickly lost interest & he was able to escape. We watched him disappear into a nearby hole & we were all relieved he had lived to see another day. The male lion regular killed porcupines & plucked the quills out before eating them but luckily for this little guy the pride had killed a zebra that day & they were all too full to bother with this easy snack! This event was by far the most memorable of all the amazing sights I saw during my 6 weeks working on the reserve.