Porcupines

Porcupine’s scientific name is Erethizon dorsatum, and they are mammals. I chose porcupines because they are interesting and I saw one in the tree at school. 

Porcupines make their homes in trees and caves, in the woods. Porcupines find food with their sense of smell in all seasons. They eat the branches of hemlock and pine trees. Coyotes and great horned owls eat porcupines. They are herbivores.

Porcupines can weigh up to 35 pounds. Porcupines have 4 toes on their front paws and 5 toes on their hind paws. They can live up to 15 to 18 years in the wild.

Porcupines have one baby at a time. Their babies are called porcupettes. They don't build a nest, instead they hide babies under logs and brush piles and come back at night time to feed them. Porcupettes only live with their mothers for three and a half months to 4 months before they set out on their own.

Porcupines have sharp quills. If the quills are standing up on their skin, slowly back away because their quills are sharp. Porcupines have 30,000 quills; each one is 1 to 4 inches long. Porcupine quills can stick to skin because they have little hooks on them. Porcupine quills usually lay flat, but when they are threatened, they will put them up. Behavior that helps them survive is being nocturnal, this helps them survive but avoiding some predators and the heat of day.