COMMON NAME: Porcupines

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Erethizon dorsatum

TYPE: Mammal

GROUP NAME: Prickles

YOUNG NAME: Porcupettes
DIET: herbivores. Winter: evergreen needles, tree bark

Spring & Summer: berries, seeds, grasses, leaves, roots, stems

AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: 5-7 years

AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN CAPTIVITY: 18 years
HEAD & BODY LENGTH: 24 to 36 inches

TAIL LENGTH: 8 to 10 inches

WEIGHT: 10 to 30 pounds

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1. North American porcupines are covered in about 30,000 quills. 

2. North American porcupines cannot throw or shoot their quills. Because quills are so lightly attached, they come off easily when a predator encounters them.

3. While North American porcupines spend most of the time on the ground, they are good climbers and regularly climb trees in search of food and occasionally even build nests in trees. 

4. North American porcupines are also good swimmers.

5. Their quills aid in buoyancy. 

6. For communication, porcupines growl, grunt, moan, whine, cough, and chatter their teeth when threatened.

7. North American porcupines prefer coniferous forests but have adapted to grasslands, open tundra and deserts. Found in Alaska, Canada, northern Mexico, and most of the western and northeastern United States.

8. You can help porcupines in the wild while traveling through forests or wooded areas by driving alertly and carefully to avoid porcupines moving slowly across roads.