Reproduction
While males are looking for receptibe females, they make their home vigger 5 times bigger taht the normal size, to attract the females.Males are ready to reproduce at 24 months and females at 12 months.
The male splashes the female with urine, then the male mounts with the female in front and the male on the side.
If the female is not ready and the male splashed her with urine, then she shakes of the urine and leaves.
During the intercourse, the female curls her tail over her back to cover her quills.
well ya see when a boy porcupine and a girl porcupine like each other VERRYYYY much they move in together and then they call the stork
well.... probably the same way dogs do. boy porcupine climbs on top of girl porcupine, then some weeks or months later, baby porcupines arrive.... simple
Geographic Range: The common porcupine is found in boreal North America from Alaska to Labrador and southward to northern Mexico. Erethizon is also found in the Lake States and New England. In the north-central region, it is found only in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
Physical Characteristics: Mass: 3 to 7 kg. The masses above are normal for most porcupines. Large males, however, may weigh up to 18 kg. There is considerable variation in the color of a porcupine's hair throughout its geographic range. Coloration of common porcupines is usually dark brown. The dorsal region of the porcupine is covered with thick, sharp, barbed quills, which are distributed among stiff guard hairs and wooly underfur. The number of quills on each porcupine may exceed 30,000. The quills are used for defense purposes. Each one of the modified hairs is tipped with microscopic barbs that cause the quill to be continually driven into the muscle of predators. There are no quills located on the underparts of the common porcupine. Quills have yellowish to white bases and are dark at the tips. The longest quills are located on the animal's rump; the shortest are found on the cheeks. Common porcupines have robust bodies with small heads, moderately small ears, short legs, and a short thick tail. The animal's feet are heavy with naked soles. The front feet have four toes while the hind feet have five toes. Each toe has a strong curved claw. Most females have two pairs of mammary glands, but occasionally a specimen can be found with three pairs of mammary glands.
Food Habits: The common porcupine is entirely vegetarian. A major shift in its food habits takes place between the winter and summer months. The winter diet consists mainly of evergreen needles and the cambium layer and inner bark of trees. During the spring and summer, the common porcupine eats buds, tender twigs, roots, stems, leaves, flowers, berries, nuts, and other vegetation. Common porcupines are also known to gnaw on bones and antlers from the ground due to their high mineral content .
Reproduction: Reproduction occurs in the fall or early winter. Females may be polyestrous and recycle in 25 to 30 days if fertilization does not occur at the time of ovulation. Ovulation is spontaneous and may alternate between the left and right ovaries. The female porcupine is in heat for eight to twleve hours. Males fight for receptive females. An elaborate courtship takes place involving extensive vocalization, a comical sort of dance, and the male showering the female with urine. The testes of male porcupines descend into scrotal pouches during late August and early September. Spermatogenesis reaches its highest level during October. After mating, the female repels the male and a copulation plug is formed. The gestation period lasts between 205 and 217 days with the young being born from April to June. Litters normally consist of a single offspring; however, there are rare records of twins. Offspring are precocial with open eyes when born. Senses of smell and hearing develop as the young grow. The quills of young porcupines are soft at birth but harden within one hour. In the lab, nursing may last several months; but in the wild, young can survive on a diet of vegetation within two weeks of birth. Mothers remain with their young for up to six months. Sexual maturity is reached anywhere from 16 to 24 months.
Behavior Common porcupines are usually solitary; however, some may den together especially in the winter. During winter months, the animals seek refuge in caves, decaying logs, or hollow trees. They do not build nests. They often defend winter feeding trees from other animals. Porcupines do not hibernate, but they often remain in their dens during bad weather. During the summer, porcupines often climb trees to avoid pestering insects. Erethizon dorsatum is generally nocturnal but occasionally forages during the day. Porcupines are not very adventuresome and often use the same dens year after year. Depending on food availability, they may migrate seasonally. They use regular runways through vegetation and snow often leaving a distinct path from their dens to their feeding areas. When approached by predators, the porcupine faces away from its enemy, raises its spines in a threatening gesture, and rapidly lashes out with its barbed tail. The quills of the porcupine are not thrown or shot but easily detached after contact with a predator's flesh. Porcupines have poor vision but good senses of hearing and smell. The voice of the common porcupine has been described as a combination of moans, whines, grunts, squeeks, snorts, and shrieks.
Habitat The common porcupine is primarily found in coniferous forests but is also frequently found in deciduous or mixed forests. Highly adaptable, Erethizon dorsatum may be found in open tundra, rangeland, and deserts. When away from forests, the common porcupine usually remains in vegetated riparian areas. Biomes: tundra, taiga, temperate forest & rainforest, temperate grassland, desert
Economic Importance for Humans
Positive: The common porcupine is generally considered a nuisance; however, some humans consider Erethizon dorsatum edible. The quills of the animal are often used by Native Americans to make quill boxes, jewelry, and other artwork.
Negative: Some humans consider the porcupine to be the most important mammalian forestry pest. Individual animals gnaw woodwork, furniture, tools, saddles, and other objects that have received salt deposits from human perspiration. The common porcupine often causes death of timber and ornamental trees by girdling the bark of the trunk or stripping all of the bark abover the snowline. Their feeding habits also contribute to the injury of orchards and crop damage. Porcupines may also injure domestic animals and transmit diseases.
Conservation Status: no special status
Other Comments: The common porcupine has population cycles that range from twelve to twenty years. A period of about ten years separates the end of a decline and the beginning of a growth phase. Despite its threatening quills, the porcupine is preyed upon by a number of species including humans, fishers, martens, coyotes, and bald eagles. Fishers tend to be the most successful predators due to their technique of flipping the porcupine on its back, exposing the unprotected belly. Common porcupines are reported to be intelligent animals that are capable of learning rapidly. They have good memories, and some humans feel that the animals make interesting pets.
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