Porcupines

After work one late afternoon last week, I took a hike on a trail near my home and saw what looked like a hornets’ nest in a hemlock tree. Something about it did not look right, and when I got closer, this “hornet’s nest” was found to have hair. A look through binoculars revealed the “nest” to be a porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum).

Porcupines are rodents, the second largest in our region. Only the beaver is larger. Porcupines weigh in at 10 to 20 lbs., with the largest being the males. These animals are herbivores, eating ground vegetation and feeding on tree bark and pine needles in the winter.

This porcupine was sleeping in the tree; they are mostly nocturnal, but will occasionally forage during the day. Porcupines choose trees as their daytime sleeping areas most likely to be free of most predators.

The porcupine’s defense is its quills, over 30,000 of them. Each quill has tiny barbs, which makes them difficult to remove. A trip to the doctor or vet is strongly advised if “quilled.” A porcupine cannot “throw” its quills, instead, the victim makes contact, and the porcupine thrashes its quill-laden tail. Many inquisitive dogs have found this out the hard way!