Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
5
A “Pig,” Perhaps, but Not a Hog: The Porcupine
MYTHS
Porcupine quills are barbed.
Porcupine quills are filled with air, like a balloon.
Porcupines can throw their quills.
A porcupine is a hedgehog.
Porcupines are adept at climbing trees.
THE PORCUPINE IS A CURIOSITY, AN ODDITY, ONE OF THOSE ABERRATIONS
DECIDEDLY OUT OF THE MAMMALIAN MAINSTREAM. Slow, plodding, awkward, rather dim-
witted, and quite lacking in adaptability, the porcupine would seem to qualify as a poor candidate for
survival in a dangerous world where so many seemingly better-equipped animals have passed into ex-
tinction. Yet despite such numerous disadvantages, this walking collection of anomalies has survived
for millions of years and gives every appearance of wending its bumbling, unconcerned way into the
distant future.
The saving grace in this oddball animal's makeup is, of course, its quilly armor. Without that wonder-
ful evolutionary quirk, the porcupine would long since have gone the way of dinosaurs, woolly mam-
moths, and sundry other unfortunates. However, the porky's defenses are so formidable that, with few
exceptions, it can waddle its way through life with minimal problems from would-be predators.
Porcupine quills are actually highly specialized hairs, totally distinct from the short underfur and
very long guard hairs. A porcupine has an astonishing 30,000 quills to protect its back, flanks, and
tail—an average of about 140 quills per square inch on much of its body! The face and underside lack
quills, however, thereby giving porkies the animal equivalent of an Achilles' heel, albeit one that few
predators are able to take advantage of.
