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Porcupines; Order: rodent. A porcupine's habitat and range: forests, deserts, and grasslands of North and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Porcupines can weigh from 2 to 60 pounds depending on the species. A prickly coat of needle-sharp quills is the porcupine's best defense. Ordinarily the quills lay flat. But if an enemy approaches the porcupine will raise the quills and spread them, usually deterring the enemy. If the animal is not deterred the quills may lodge in the enemy's flesh when the porcupine brushes against the animal. New quills grow in to relace the lost ones. The porcupine cannot throw its quills.

There are two groups of porcupines. They differ in habits and appearance. The porcupines of the Americas also climb trees. Some have been seen using their tails to hold on to branches. In the winter the North American porcupine eats evergreen n

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If you spot a small pile of freshly-snipped branches on a winter walk, it's likely porcupines are nearby. They usually drag leaf and plant material into their nest.

So keep an eye out for the barbed quill-pig of the woods on your next winter walk. From three days of age, offer solids including grass hay, romaine lettuce, grains, bread, rodent pellets, bark, roots, nuts, berries, fruits. The sound varies in pitch and is most often heard in areas with rocky knobs and a good mix of conifers and hardwoods -- prime porcupine habitat.

From the February 1996 issue:

Wisconsin's prickly rodent

The misunderstood porcupine is a boon to the Northwoods. Sexual maturity is at 9 to 18 months. Nor are the gardener's tools immune to the porcupine's gouging incisors. Porcupines winter in caves and hollow logs. If it does not take the nipple, insert it into the mouth between the incisors and molars and rub it against the roof of the mouth. Pregnant or nursing mothers will need a larger portion, sometimes 2-3 times the normal diet for that individual. The quills are of varying length and diameter but some of these quills can be as long as 15 inches and 3/8" in diameter. The habitat is home to two resident porcupines, who are aptly named Cactus and Lance. These large weasels will wait for the right moment and inflict quick bites to the porcupine's face and nose, areas that can take little abuse before the injury is fatal.

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