Retrieved 2012-02-20. ↑ "North American porcupine – Erethizon dorsatum (Linnaeus, 1758)". National Geographic.N.p., n.d. Arboreal animals, they are also excellent climbers and spend the majority of their time in trees. They typically weigh from 5 to 56 ounces (155 to 1,584 grams), depending on the species. Latest Stories & Galleries. They usually have two to six young at a time. We upload videos every #WildlifeWednesday, so tune in! All have short, stocky legs, but their tails range from short to long, with some being prehensile. Porcupine . Porcupines are often referred to as "porkys" or "quill pigs." These magnificent creatures come in all shapes and sizes and live in a number of different environments. 4. 5. Although there are numerous different species of porcupines in existence, only one roams throughout the United States, according to the National Geographic. Porcupines are covered in about 30,000 quills. Here at Nat Geo Kids we’re turtally mad about turtles, that’s why we’ve put together these ten terrific turtle facts!. They are the second largest rodent in Alaska, and their unique pelage sets them apart from all other mammals of North America. Generally, female stingrays give birth once a year. Porcupines vary in size considerably: Rothschild's porcupine of South America weighs less than a kilogram (2.2 lb); the crested porcupine found in Italy, Sicily, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa can grow to well over 27 kg (60 lb). Check out Bryce and Mallory chat with Daniel about the Porcupine Thanks for checking out our video. Porcupine In Madison Range | Photo: D. Lennon. Key Facts & Information Physical Features. The porcupine's most famous featurethe quillis hollow, 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7 centimeters) in length, and lightly attached to the porcupine's skin. The quills, or spines, take various forms depending on the species, but all are modified Is it a water balloon? Jeff Foott/DCL. When the quills enter the skin of a predator, they work their way further into the skin at a rate of 1 mm an hour. Come back soon for more updates, games, and videos! Published in Leopards acquire a taste for porcupines. Quills are not thrown or shot, as popularly conceived. "Porcupines, Porcupine Pictures, Porcupine Facts - National Geographic." Did you know a baby porcupine is called a porcupette? Its coat of 30,000 sharp spines may help protect the porcupine from predators, but it does nothing for its love life: fellow porcupines are not immune to the sting of the quills. BBC News. The major difference between Old and New world species is that the Old World porcupines live on the ground and often in small groups, while the New World porcupine… National Geographic Maps Prey for stingrays includes clams, oysters, shrimps, crabs, and mussels. When they find dinner, stingrays crush their meal using strong jaws. Full size 700 × 519 Post navigation. From fawns to fry, eyases to ephyra, use this GeoStory to travel the world of adorable animal babies. Boa constrictors wear some of the most distinctive markings of all reptiles. Porcupines are more likely to flee predators, but if cornered, it will er… leopard-killing-porcupine-in-tree. A porcupine has approximately 30,000 quills on its body. The hedgehog was named because of its peculiar foraging methods. From: "Saved by Windows Internet Explorer 7" Subject: Porcupine, Porcupine Profile, Facts, Information, Photos, Pictures, Sounds, Habitats, Reports, News - National Geographic Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:03:58 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_05F3_01C9984D.5C7F7350" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE … Some species also have spines on their skin to ward off predators. Porcupines can live a long time. Most hedgehogs can fit in an adult's hand. On average, a porcupine has 30,000 quills. It's all three actually. Never-before-published footage shows the mating rituals of echidnas—spiny mammals native to Australia that lay eggs. A baby eel is called an elver? The quills stand up when a porcupine feels threatened and detach easily when touched. A typical porcupine has soft hair mixed with quills, which grow from its back, sides, and tail. Rodents make up about 40% of all the mammal species on Earth. Leave a comment below and let us know! Likes LEAVE A COMMENT. Emperor penguins spend their entire lives in Antarctica – the Earth’s southernmost continent – where temperatures can drop to as low as -60°C.Brrrr. Feb 1, 2016 - Fast Facts: PorcupineScientific name: Erethizon dorsatum Average weight: 5.5 kg (male) 4.5 kg (female)Average height: 60 to 100 cmAverage lifespan: 10 years or moreDid you know?When baby porcupines are born their quills are soft, but within an hour they harden.Physiology The prehensile-tailed porcupines or coendous (genus Coendou) are found in Central and South America. Even if a predator gobbles up a puffer before it inflates, it won't enjoy the snack. Web. Porcupine species have some traits in common, the obvious one being the long, sharp quills that cover their bodies. The largest baby animal in the world is the blue whale calf. If a porcupine loses a quill, it grows a new one. If you were ever looking for an unusual piece of trivia, the porcupine … That species is the North American porcupine ( Erethizon dorsatum), which is also frequently referred to as the common porcupine. A honey badger is seen feeding on a dead porcupine on the road and after a few trips back to the same spot, it is revealed that the feisty honey badger must have killed the porcupine … They are an enormous family of creatures, and although the Old World porcupines, and New World porcupines, are all from the same branch of the rodent family, they are actually not closely related. Natural history, News. iStock. Two other formerly recognized Neotropical tree porcupine genera, Echinoprocta and Sphiggurus, have been subsumed into Coendou, since Sphiggurus was shown by genetic studies to be polyphyletic, while Echinoprocta nested within Coendou.. Characteristics. These two big cats, immortalised in a famous book and the more recent film, The Ghost and the Darkness, also had porcupine quill fragments stuck in fractures within their teeth, Kerbis Peterhans says. See the fact file below for more information on the porcupine or alternatively, you can download our 26-page Porcupine worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment. Customize your avatar OK. To survive in such low temperatures, these brilliant birds have special adaptations – they have large stores of insulating body fat and several layers of scale-like feathers that protect them from icy winds. March 1, 2017 - A leopard gets itself into a prickly situation when it tries to hunt down a porcupine.Tourists on safari in Kruger National Park in South Africa captured footage of the big cat facing the quilled defenses of its prey.The leopard is persistent and continues to give chase, forcing the porcupine to choose whether to stand its ground or make a crafty escape. The Malayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) photographed here in its native range at a wildlife facility in Singapore) is a species that inhabits forests and other habitats where it can build a suitable burrow from India and Nepal, east to China, and south through the Malay Peninsula, and even on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. 2010-09-10. THANK YOU. 1 2 "Porcupines, Porcupine Pictures, Porcupine Facts". Travel & Lifestyle. ZAMBIA IS OPEN: 3 … Prehensile-tailed porcupines live in the South American forests of Venezuela, Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Trinidad, and some extreme northern sections of Argentina. Also known as blowfish, these clumsy swimmers fill their elastic stomachs with huge amounts of water (and sometimes air) and blow themselves up to several times their normal size. "PORCUPINES." Map of hedgehog distribution: National Geographic Maps. Porcupine, any of 25 species of large, herbivorous, quill-bearing rodents active from early evening to dawn. Tembe elephant bull relocated to community-owned reserve Read more. Their ranges vary from 20 … What do you make of our hedgehog facts? Information about porcupine on Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. Pufferfish can inflate into a ball shape to evade predators. They range in size from 4 to 12 inches (10 to 30 centimeters), according to the San Diego Zoo. August 19, 2005. 13 Oct. 2014. A fish? Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. National Geographic. National Geographic Maps Grazing until dawn, a hippo may eat up to 150 pounds (68 kilograms) of grass a night. Porcupines are covered in quills all over their body except their belly, face, and feet. While you wait for it to be checked and approved why … Retrieved July 26, 2012. ↑ "Porcupines raise thorny questions in Kenya". A poisonous pill? Because quills are so lightly attached, they come off easily when a predator encounters them. Porcupines are stout and short-legged, usually 25 to 31 inches long weighing 15 to 18 pounds. 3. 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