North American Porcupine

North American Porcupine

Erithizon dorsatum  is commonly referred to as the North American Porcupine.  The porcupines belong to a large rodent family and have long sharp shaped spines that cover most of their body especially the rump and tail. Porcupine quills have reversed barbs on the tips that casue the barbs to work deep into the flesh and hand removal difficult.

Seek medical attention if you or a pet end up victims of a porcupine attack.

This is the only mammal in North America that uses quills as a means of self defense.  This species is found throughout Canada and  Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont , Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Delaware in the North Eastern United States. Out west the Porcupine is found in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, California, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington State.

Need help with the trapping and removal of a porcupine please check our trapper directory  in your home state. Chances are they can help you and are licensed to operate a nuisance wildlife control business in your state.

In size comparison the North American Porcupine is smaller then an American Beaver yet larger then the common musk rat and nocturnal by nature and know how to swim. The porcupine makes grunt, loud moans and scream sounds especially during the fall mating season. These mate in the fall and a single young is born early summer after a 7 month gestation.

The porcupine is active all year round. In the spring time they eat the young tender buds off of our trees,   by summer time they switch over to the leaves of trees and other herbaceous plants, by fall they are nesting on acorns, beechnuts, and apples in addition to just eaves and by winter they feed on the inner bark of trees and leave the area littered with a telltale sign of leaving smalled clipped branches.

The porcupine is usually reported to be a nocturnal mammal but  take their time in the early morning hours at times and may be spotted along roads or in yards and fields.