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Show MOUNTAIN te) TIMES te) | Our Prickly Friends, the Porcupines PAGE incisors for cutting wood, Sixteen flat Quilt length: From 1/4 of an in Seeae and distribution: in he Yukon Habitat: Divers Food: <All of te 5 smaller th 12 inch 1Ve Adu oran 2) I | d leg nu y | ify 1 | North Am« { is } | Twig W 1 Behavior: nto 5| Life span: Uj 10 years Mating: Lat | Gestation: ay mths, One, rarely Den: Several dens within its home tO Slet n whichever den have fallen from EA, 2a > The part of the quill that does the damage is the tip which is equipped with tiny barbs. These barbs lay flat against the quill when going into flesh, but open up like an umbrella when the quill is pulled out. A gentle twist and firm tug with Quill pliers pulls the free. quill removal is quite painful and should be left to a physician or veterinarian, who will usually anesthetize the patient. @ PARK CITY'S ONLY ORGANIC GROCERY % & THE SEASON GIVING TAKE CARE OF THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE WITH HEALTHY PRODUCTS 649-4561 9-7 MONDAY - FRIDAY 10 - 7 SATURDAY, 12 - 6 SUNDAY GROCERY STORE 1270 IRONHORSE DRIVE Tennis Cuca NATURAL BODY CARE PRODUCTS BULK DRIED FRUITS, NUTS AND SEEDS CHILDRENS TREATS Swimming bay AIRS ot Racquetball Racquetball : $ 100 OFF COUPON Uy Smashes. Splashes. Dunks. Dives. Kicks. Jumps. Volleys. Follies. a aCe @ & Short on words, long Xo Call 645-5100 to play! Good thru February 1997 Volleyball aries) on fun! ir-Z Bring this ad in and receive $1.00 off on Aerobics, Pool, Jacuzzi, or Gym play Racquetball 11 Basketball OF 1200 Tennis PACU re eile Little a stuua] x \ ALT I the trees Every space on a porcupine’s body is covered with quills except parts of his face, belly and the underside of his tail. Quills usually lay dormant against the body and under the guard hairs, but at the first scent of danger, muscles just below the skin trigger the quills to attention. The quills are loosely attached and detach easily, but are not shot. Once a porcupine loses a quill, it grows a new one within 2 to 8 months. S log ng ounds wher irk | been stripped away beneath tre Look for distincti pigeon toed foot Porcupines are more noticeable in winter because the i UELUUTU em COCO leaves lop' II i How to see one: Look in trees for [here could also be seat on the ground prints with a tail drag between them. SOUT g90eS Kate RNS ars Road AO) G ONL TAC OULDALID | even SSW} Golden sun warms the meadow, highlighting fresh wildflowers. Aspens ring the glade with the fluttering of newly leafed green. A single narrow trail traverses the space, lush vegetation knee-high on both sides so well, he can stz A woman in a tree for several makes her way days, eating and silently, breathing even sleeping withdeeply, a_ brilliant out falling mountain morning A porcupine’s Enjoyment in June. favorite food is the of the day distracts green cambium layer her and her meadfound just under the ow mate from bark. Although wood attention to safety. is normally difficult ahead, Directly for animals to digest, waddling this way, the porcupine hannose to the ground, dles it with his long is a sleek porcutract, in digestive pine. which special bacteEach trail user ria break down the stops abruptly, the cellulose into carbolarger, two-legged eat so much The four-legged hydrates. Porcupines eyeing the smaller. wood that they tend to smell like sawbristles to twice het volume, arming her 30,000 quills. She rises to her hind dust. A porcupine climbs down backlegs and sniffs the air, filtering familiar wards, using his tail as a feeler to tell smells to distill the single scent of a when he has reached the ground. On danger« US enemy. A short yelp and she is gone, diving into the bluebells the ground, porcupines are slow and vulnerable Rolling into a ball is the last and gallumphing to the nearest aspen, line of defense for adults. When threatwhich she climbs in an instant Behind her on the trail, she leaves ened, a healthy porcupine’s first defensive reaction offers a frightening target: a precious package. Signaled by mom’s he raises his quills and turns his back shrill warning, a two week old pup puffs his newly hardened quills to his attacker, lashing his forand covers his face with his a ’ midable tail, bristling with 5 front paws. This posture, O 0 m inch quills. He chatters his instinctive to all ages of porcu7 a SO» teeth, hisses and often, like a pines, protects their faces and ok O skunk, he stomps the ground. Porcupines have few natural soft undersides. A porcupine f enemies. Probably the most will retain this in position, even -, ¥ adept is the fisher or pine when poked or rolled over. L Z marten. Closely related to the Only when the porcupine’s tv } weasel, the fisher attacks from a keen sense of smell assures SZ low angle in front, inflicting himnim that that danger danger isis passed, passed, wi will SS= wounds on the porcupine’s he unclench. a face and flipping him over to expose Born less than a month ago, the his spineless underbelly. baby porcupine was an only child. He Other predators, which include was born walking, with eyes open, and wolverines, bobcats, large raptors and tail lashing. His quills were soft, but domestic dogs, are not as regularly suchardened within three days. Already cessful as the fisher. They often end his mother is weaning him and introup with a face full of quills. Quills can ducing him to trees. be deadly. Impacted quills can cause Giving birth to such a fully develand swelling that restricts eating oped offspring requires a long gestabreathing. Quills have also been tion period of 7 months — 3 months known to burrow deeper into the longer than beaver, the largest rodent predator, causing infection or even in North America. This means that porpuncturing a vital organ. cupine mating must take place in late Quills are merely a specialization fall, even though other rodents mate in of hairs. A porcupine has three distincvery early spring. Usually solitary, even tive kinds of hair: short downy underin the care of newborns, porcupines fur for warmth; long waterproof guard seek out one another for the sole purhairs; and quills. pose of mating. Porcupine, Erethizon dorsatium Be eon Large quill covered rodent, just Two to three feet from nose to tail. Tail lene Well fed adult female, up to 25 pounds. Four (2 Avani ey A porcupine is surprisingly strong and agile in treees His short bowed legs, which hinder him on the ground, are arboreal assets. Together with long curved claws both front and the porcupine is well adapted for climbing trees and hugging branches. His feet pads are covered with rough knobb skin for extra gripping power. He uses his broad tail as prop, supporting him aC By Pam Poulson Manager of Environmental Education Red Butte Garden € iG} |
