Porcupine Facts:

1. The North American porcupine is the only species that live in the U.S. & Canada , is the largest of all porcupines. Porcupines live in the deciduous & coniferous forests of North America & Canada. Porcupine found in North America & South America are good climbres & spend much of their times in trees.

2. When not in trees of feeding, porcupine prefer the protection of a den. Dens can be found in rock crevices, caves, hollow logs, abandoned mines, & even under houses & barns. When porcupines are on the ground, they shuffle & waddle along. 

3. They are short, fat, & covered with as many as 30,000 spiny quills. All the porcupines have quills. Africa's crested porcupine has quills that are nearly a foot long (30 cm). Porcupines have soft hair, but will the back , sides , & tail it is usually mixed with sharp quills. The quills lie flat, but will spring up if the porcupine is threatened.

4. The porcupine cannot shoot its quills at a predator, but the quills will detach from the porcupines relatively easily. An animal that attacks a porcupine will usually end up with a face full of quills.

5. Quills have sharp tips & overlap scales or bards that make them difficult to remove once they are stuck in another animals skin. Porcupines grow new quills to replace the ones they lose.

6. From the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, a porcupine can be from 33 to 46 inches (80 to 115 cm) long. They can weigh from 12 to 35 LBS (5 to 16 kg).

7. Porcupine makes shrill screeches,whines, & low grunts to communicate.

8. Porcupine are nocturnal , which means they are active primarily at nigh

9. In the wild, porcupine live from 5 to 7 years, but some have been known to live as long as 18 years.

10. The porcupine lives on plants, shrubs, leaves, dandelions, clover,grasses & wildflowers. They eat natural bark & stems, & have been know to chew on canoe paddles. 

11. North American porcupines also eat fruit, & springtime buds, porcupines can swim, so pond weeds, water lilies, & arrowhead are all part of the summer diet. Their favorite trees are hemlock.

 12. North American porcupines use their large front teeth to satisfy this healthy appetite for wood. Porcupines are attracted by salt & may chew on any too handler that has sale left from human sweat.
13. Females maintain a territory where they live , & will defend it against other females: however make territories or dominate male rarely , `overlap those of the severales breeding occurs in October & November.
 14. Porcupines will carry their babies about 210 days before they give birth. When the female gives birth it is to one baby. The mother will nurse her young for about 4 months. The baby will begin living independently at the age of 5 months. Baby porcupines are called" Porcupettes".
15. In spite of this prickly suit of armor, there are some animals that prey on porcupines. The fisher is the most formidable predator, but great horned owls, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions,  & Wolves will make a meal out of the porcupines if there's an opportunity.