๐ฆ Animal world ๐ Mammals
The porcupine
๐ In short
The porcupine is a large rodent whose back, sides and tail are covered in long sharp quills. It's a calm animal that doesn't attack anyone, but its quills protect it well from enemies.
๐คฉ Did you know?
- A porcupine's body has thousands of quills.
- In Africa and Asia a porcupine can be 70 centimeters long with its tail.
- Porcupine quills are really stiff hairs joined together.
- A baby porcupine is born with soft quills that harden within hours.
๐ Find out more
๐ Quills for defense
When a porcupine senses danger it raises and fluffs out its quills and shakes them to make a rattling sound, then backs towards the enemy. The quills stick into the skin of anyone who touches it and stay there.
๐ It doesn't shoot its quills
Some people think porcupines shoot their quills like arrows, but that isn't true. The quills do come off easily when something touches them, though.
๐ก Its food
The porcupine is a plant-eater, feeding on roots, leaves, fruit and tree bark. It usually comes out at night to look for food.
๐ฏ Old World and New World porcupines
The porcupines of Africa, Asia and Europe live on the ground in burrows, while American porcupines climb trees and spend lots of time up in them.
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 How does a porcupine defend itself?
2 Does a porcupine shoot its quills like arrows?
3 In Africa and Asia a porcupine can be ?? centimeters long with its tail.
4 Which picture shows โThe porcupineโ?
๐ฆ Discover more
๐ท Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- Mattnad ยท CC BY-SA 3.0
