History, Natural History & the Arts
If you’re looking for signs of wildlife this winter, forget about paw prints. One of our native mammals faithfully plows its “roads” after each snowfall, and you can often follow these channels right to the fearless critter itself.
With a truly adorable face and a rather unfriendly backside, the North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is the only animal with a six-million acre park named after it. [Read more…] about Porcupines: Quill Pigs, Bark Eaters and the Adirondack Park
North American porcupines are large rodents whose ancestors apparently crossed from Africa to South America on floating trees and logs some 30 million years ago. Their most prominent feature are the approximately 30,000 quills which grow individually everywhere out of the skin musculature, interspersed with bristles, under fur and hair.
The quills help the porcupine defend themselves from attacks by predators. The only quill free areas are the face and underside. [Read more…] about The Strange Lives of Porcupines