Behavior
Porcupines are mainly active at night; on summer days, they often rest in trees. During the summer, they eat twigs, roots, stems, berries and other vegetation. In the winter, they mainly eat conifer needles and tree bark. They do not hibernate but sleep a lot and stay close to their dens in winter. The strength of the porcupine's defense has given it the ability to live a solitary life, unlike many herbivores, which must move in flocks or herds.
Porcupines breed in the fall and the young porcupine (usually one) is born in the spring, with soft quills that harden within a few hours after birth. When porcupines are mating, they tighten their skin and hold their quills flat, so as not to injure each other.
They are considered by some to be as a pest because of the damage that they often inflict on trees and wooden and leather objects. Plywood is especially vulnerable because of the salts added during manufacture. The quills are used by Native Americans to decorate articles such as baskets and clothing. Porcupines are edible and were an important source of food, especially in winter, to the Natives of Canada's boreal forests. They move slowly (having few threats in its natural environment which would give it the need to flee quickly) and are often hit by vehicles while crossing roads. Natural predators of this species include fishers (a marten-like animal), wolverines, coyotes, wolves, bears and cougars as well as humans. Due to its dangerous quills, the North American porcupine is often avoided as prey and even regular predators may be harmed or killed by their quills. Most predators of the porcupine will attempt to stun or cause massive blood loss with an attack to the face and then will spin them over to their unprotected underside. The porcupine can embed several painful quills directly into a predator's face, which may save their own lives. To avoid predation, porcupines often climb trees at the sign of danger, since most of their natural predators cannot pursue them once they're arboreal.
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Pair in a tree, Quebec
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Bark of Sugar Maple eaten by a porcupine
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Bark of Sugar Maple eaten by a porcupine
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Bark of Sugar Maple eaten by a porcupine
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Tracks in sand (human handprint shown for scale)
Read more about this topic: North American Porcupine
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