Crested Porcupine

• defensaIts quills are not fired at a distance, as popularly believed: they come away easily on contact and lodge in any attacker that gets too close.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)

Habitat & environment

Woodland, scrub, rocky ground and farmland of Italy, Sicily and the Mediterranean coast of Africa as far as Tanzania

Birth weight

3% of the mother's body weight; ~1,000 grams according to another source

Size at birth

Precocial, born with its eyes open and its incisors fully developed; the quills are soft at birth and harden after the first week

Sexual maturity

1-2 years (sexual maturity just before full adult weight)

Gestation / incubation

66-112 days (the sources vary markedly, from 66 to 112 days)

Litter / clutch size

1 to 4 young per litter (1-2 most often), up to 2-3 times a year

Lifespan in captivity

A documented record of 28 years in captivity, the second longest-lived rodent after the naked mole-rat

Sources consulted: Animal Diversity Web; AnAge; Know Your Mammals; Creature Atlas; Animalia.bio; PMC; EBSCO Research Starters

Best time: All year round in northern and western Africa and in Italy, at night; it gives itself away by the quills dropped along paths.