If they are smart enough to knock the porcupine on it's back to get to it's soft under belly or smart enough and quick enough to out flank it and attack its face. They warn potential enemies of their defense system when alarmed. The tips of its quills lodge in its enemy's skin, and the resulting wounds can disable or even kill the predator. Moreover, the most feared predator that feeds on porcupines are the fishers. They are well-developed and are born with open eyes. They are quite playful and, outside the burrow, they run and chase one another. Donate now. Usually, the quills lie flat against the body, but if danger threatens, they raise and spread them. They are herbivores, primarily eating roots, tubers, bark and fallen fruit, and will seek out cultivated root crops like potatoes and carrots, making them agricultural pests. An African crested porcupine's sharp, sturdy quills help protect it against predators. These large rodents modify natural shelters among roots and rocks, inhabit holes made by other animals, or dig their own hideaways. The black & white quills along the head and back can be raised into a crest, thus the name. They have quite acute hearing and will freeze when approached by predators, such as big cats, large predatory birds, or hyaenas. If an attack is launched, it is frequently met … One porcupine predator, the fisher, is able to flip the North American porcupine onto its back, exposing its unprotected belly. How does a porcupine protect itself against predators? Our solutions to protecting the porcupine: African Wildlife Foundation educates communities about the importance of sustainable practices for agricultural and settlement growth by providing training on best practices and incentivizing conservation agriculture when appropriate. They live together sharing an elaborate burrow system, which they may remain in during winter, although they do not undergo true hibernation. Porcupine quills have long been a favorite ornament and good-luck charm in Africa. So porcupines don't have any predators except humans, which can kill them with a weapon and then handle the body carefully. If continually bothered, the crested porcupine will stamp its feet, whirr the quills, and charge the disturber back end first trying to stab the enemy with the thicker, shorter quills. Porcupine comes from the Latin “porcus” for pig and “spina” for spine: “spiny pig”… BUT, they are not related to pigs. The gestation period of the African crested porcupine is about 112 days. The African crested porcupine lives in hilly, rocky habitats in Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and Italy. Koija Starbeds sets aside land for wildlife while, at the same time, creating jobs and income for the local community. The quills are striped black and white, which serves as a warning to potential predators. Their most recognizable feature is, of course, its quills. Predators of the North African crested porcupine include lions, leopards, large birds of prey and hyenas. They weigh approximately 50 lbs. Rodents, such as our African crested porcupines, have ever growing front teeth (called incisors). Defense. Click on the pictures below to meet our resident animals! Create your own quills! Porcupines are rodents with an interesting way to protect themselves from predators. They wear a coat of sharp quills all over their body. It is unable to protect its head by rolling up like a hedgehog. They have even been found on Mt. As human populations expand, humans and porcupines find themselves in increasingly close quarters. Become a Sponsor and connect with our animals in a personal way. The porcupine has quite an interesting heritage. Find objects around your house that can function in the same way a porcupine's quills do. They can also rattle their quills making a warning sound. Despite being a solitary forager, they live in small family groups consisting of an adult pair with their young. Appearance Female porcupines are about one kilogram heavier than males, weighing 10-24 kg and males with a mass of 10-19 kg. Porcup… New quills grow in to replace lost ones. They erect their spikes like other animals would do with their hair, to make them seem bigger, and make grunting noises while swaying back and forth to produce rattling sounds with their quills. Their quill lengths vary on different parts of the body, anywhere from 1” to 12” on their back. Females may be larger than males, but otherwise, the sexes are alike … There is hystricidae, or Old World Porcupines, and Erethizontidae, the New World Porcupines. A porcupine also has many similar predators to hedgehogs. There are two different families of porcupines. African crested porcupines are excellent diggers and live in an extensive burrow systems, caves, rock crevices or aardvark holes. The brush-tailed porcupine is hunted in such large quantities, many in those areas fear that it is no longer a sustainable option. Hystrix cristata (Crested Porcupine); Atherurus africanus (African Brush-tailed Porcupine); Hystrix africaeaustralis (Cape Porcupine), 60 to 93 centimeters in length (23 to 37 inches), 15 years in the wild; up to 20 years in captivity. They are good diggers. Quills were folded, twisted, wrapped, plaited and sewn using a wide range of techniques to decorate articles of clothing, bags, knife sheaths, baskets, wooden handles and pipe stems. The young are suckled from … African crested porcupines have shorter tails than their New World cousins and the presence of rattle quills at the end of the tail make a hiss- The African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) is a species of rat-like Old World porcupine, indigenous to a broad belt of Africa ranging from Guinea on the west coast to Kenya on the east. Cape porcupines are found across the whole of southern and central Africa, to southern Kenya, Uganda, and Congo at the northern edge of their range. DIET. The African cape porcupine is one of the largest members of the rodent family. Defensive Skills. Porcupine or Cape porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis) Order Rodentia. New quills will grow in to replace lost ones. Surprisingly, however, studies show that porcupines can … The predators who attack the porcupines sharing one burrow are great horned owls , leopards, coyotes, bobcats , mountain lions and wolves. Fishers will scratch at a porcupine’s face to try to get it to turn over so they can bite into its vulnerable side (the area without quills). Females usually have only one litter per year, containing one or two or, occasionally three offspring. Porcupines are the largest and heaviest of all African rodents. Not many predators are interested in porcupine meat, mainly due the strong protection it has, but those who do may experience quite a performance from the porcupine’s part. Any predators that live where the porcupines live can be predators to it. The African crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) is the largest porcupine in the world. [An African crested porcupine will] use all those defenses: the stomping, the rattling, and the shaking of the quills. AWF engages local communities to set aside land for wildlife to live undisturbed. The head is roundish and rather domed, with a blunt muzzle and small eyes and ears. These practices have eliminated them from densely settled areas. They are smoked out of their burrows and hunted with spears, nets, or dogs. In the Old World such as Africa, the biggest predators for porcupines are the whole gamut of large wild cats, especially lions, who are clever enough to carefully flip the porcupines over and attack them in this way. The black & white quills along the head and back can be raised into a crest, thus the name. Family Hystricidae. When porcupine populations close to cultivated areas surge, they can become serious agricultural pests. Both sexes are about 84 cm in length. If this fails to deter the predator, the North African crested porcupine will proceed to stamp its feet, whirr its quills to produce a rattling sound, and will then charge its enemy, back-end first, attempting to stab its enemy with its thicker, shorter quills. Porcupines also have a group of hollow quills on their tails which rattle when shaken. Some quills, like those of Africa's crested porcupine, are nearly a foot (30 centimeters) long. 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