Sometimes when you are out taking pics nature sneaks up and surprises you. That is what happened to Michelle and I as we were driving through
Necedah NWR, in Wisconsin, chasing after redheaded woodpeckers to photograph. We were driving down one of the dirt roads in the park when we some something large and dark cross the road a ways up. We stopped and found that what we had spotted was a porcupine. Porcupines are members of the rodent family. They are usually nocturnal which is why we were surprised to see this one out in the middle of the day. The North American porcupine is the largest of the porcupine species and is found through out Canada, as well as the north and western United States. The North American porcupines are good at climbing trees, this one was up a tree so fast we barely got a picture, where they forage for food such as fruit, leaves, buds and tree bark.
Porcupines are best known for the sharp quills which they have on their back and sides. They use these quills, a single porcupine can have over 30,000 of them, to protect themselves from predators. Contrary to popular belief porcupines are not able to shoot their quills, but if threatened they will stiffen providing a barbed wall of protection. Predators that get too close will often end up with quills
embedded in their flesh. The porcupine will then grow back any quills that it loses. Porcupines are born with their quills but it takes a few days for the quills on the new born to harden.
Porcupines are members of the rodent family. Their are about 24 different species of porcupine around the world but the North American porcupine is the only one that is found in the US. The term porcupine comes from Latin and it means "quill pig". Porcupines are covered in hair and mixed into the hair at strategic locations Are sharp barbed quills. These quills are a defense mechanism. The porcupine can make them stand up rigidly and impale any predator that might mess with them.
Here in North America the porcupines spend much of their time in the trees. They are very good climbers which is helpful since most of what they eat can be found in the trees. Porcupines are herbivores and eat a mix of bark, leaves, buds, and fruit. One of the main causes of fatalities of porcupines are cars. Since porcupines are crepuscular they are most active at dusk and dawn. This often makes them difficult for drivers to see when they decide to cross a road. That was the issue with this young porcupine. Its mother was hit and killed by a car. The orphan was being cared for by a rehabilitator which is when I had the opportunity to hold and photograph it. From what I understand it ended up going to the Minnesota Zoo.
