Interesting Facts about the PORCUPINE ***

Facts about the Porcupine

Facts About

Did you Know? List of Facts about the Porcupine
Facts are statements which are held to be true and often contrasted with opinions and beliefs. Our unusual and interesting facts about the Porcupine, trivia and information, including some useful statistics about animals will fascinate everyone from kids and children to adults.

Interesting Facts about the Porcupine are as follows:

Fact 1 - Definition: A porcupine is a large rodent with a coat of sharp spines or quills which are mingled with fur and stand straight up when it is attacked, like a Hedgehog. The common species of Europe and Asia (Hystrix cristata) is the best known and their spines, or quills, can grow to a foot long. The American species (Erethizon) and the Canada porcupine (Erethizon dorsatus) have shorter spines, and are arboreal in their habits

Fact 2 - The porcupine raises its sharp quills when threatened
Fact 3 - The word 'porcupine' means 'one who rises up in anger'.
Fact 4 - The quills of baby porcupines are soft at birth but harden within an hour
Fact 5 - The North American porcupines have long, shaggy, brown or black-haired coat, with short spines
Fact 6 - The porcupine' spines or quills have tiny overlapping barbs, which are difficult to remove when embedded
Fact 7 - The porcupine lives in burrows
Fact 8 - Porcupine stats and facts
- Weight: 2.2 to 40 lbs
- Length: 25-36 inches
- Tail Length: 6-12 inches
- Habitat: Forests or brush-lands
- Lifespan: 18 years
- Diet: the Porcupine are herbivores eating mainly salt rich plants, tree leaves, grass and ferns.
Fact 9 - The porcupine has the ability to swim as its quills are hollow and buoyant
Fact 10 - The porcupine is also called the “quill pig”
Fact 11 - Contrary to popular legend, the porcupine cannot shoot its quills
Fact 12 - The male porcupine also helps the female in taking care of the young
Fact 13 - Porcupines are covered with as many as 30,000 spiny quills
Fact 14 - Porcupine quills are hollow and have spines on the end that make them hard to pull out
Fact 15 - The collective name for a group is an Array
Fact 16 - Males are called Boar
Fact 17 - Females are called Sow
Fact 18 - The names given to babies are Pup or piglet