Have you ever encountered a porcupine in the wild? These fascinating creatures are truly unique and play an essential role in our ecosystem. Porcupines are famous for their sharp quills, which can number up to 30,000! These quills are not thrown but can detach easily when predators make contact, serving as a powerful defense mechanism. Porcupines are strict herbivores, feeding on a diet of leaves, twigs, and bark. In winter, they often turn to conifer needles and tree bark to survive. Though the

Porcupine nurses her baby! A porcupette or baby porcupine, born this year at the Emperor Valley Zoo, is seen nursing from its mother. A female Prehensile-tailed porcupine, usually gives birth to a single offspring at a time. She will suckle her young for about 3 months. The baby is then slowly introduced to solid foods. This porcupette has already begun foraging for food but will still sometimes nurse from mom. It will grow to adult size in less than a year and will reach sexual maturity in less