Tiger has teeth, Cobra has venom, humans have brain and our today’s hero, porcupine has, well, nails all over its body. That’s what makes them special.
A porcupine is a small animal that has a coat of needle-like spines mixed in with its fur. These spines are called ‘quill’. The Latin word for porcupine means “quill pig.”
The quills are pointed so they stick into an animal’s skin. Normally, the quills lay down flat, but when a porcupine is scared, its quills stand up. A porcupine’s quills say, “Don’t mess with me!”
Porcupines are mammals. This means that they have fur, are born life, and drink milk when they are babies. Porcupines are herbivores, eating leaves, plants, fruit, and the tender layer beneath the bark of trees.
Porcupines live in North America, Asia, Europe and Africa. (Globe time!!!) There are over 24 kinds of porcupines and their average lifespan is between 5 to 7 years.
Fun Facts
👉 Porcupines belong to the rodent animal family. This means that they are related to squirrels, mice, rats, and rabbits.
👉 Porcupines are covered with as many as 30,000 quills. Some quills are 12 inches long. That’s bigger than your foot!
👉 Porcupine babies have soft quills. It takes two days for them to get harden up.
👉 If a predator gets too close, the quills will easily detach from the porcupine and get stuck in the predator. Removing them is quite painful!!!
You can refer to the video