Nature Canada

March Photo of the Month

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This prickly mammal was caught munching on the branches of a tree near Wishart, Saskatchewan. Thanks for sharing this great photo, Peggy Sandirson!

The porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum, is a large member of the rodent family that lives across most of Canada and western parts of the United States, and has been spotted as far south as Texas.

Most porcupines make their home in coniferous forests, feeding on the foliage and inner bark of trees during the winter and adding deciduous leaves, forbs and herbs to their diet in the spring and summer.

Quills cover almost all of a porcupine’s body, leaving only its face, belly, inner limbs and underside of the tail quill-free. To defend itself against would-be predators, the porcupine will either passively collide with a threat, or actively slap its tail to drive quills into a predator’s flesh.

The porcupine is the only mammal in North America with body hairs modified as quills.

 


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