Porcupine plush, gifts and information

Find Porcupine stuffed animals, facts and information in the forest at Animals N More.

We currently have some porcupine stuffed animals. We have Corkey the porcupine stuffed animal, made by the Boyds Collection, a porcupine stuffed animal made by Adventure Planet in center, and a Webkinz Porcupine. Check our sponsor Jeannie's Cottage Gift Shop to see if there are any porcupines stuffed animals in stock.

America's Porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) are large night dwelling rodents. They eat buds, twigs and bark and some people think they can be a serious pest. When threatened, they turn their back to their enemy, raise their 30,000 quills, and strike out with their tail. The barbed quills become embedded on contact.

The old world porcupine is a member of the family Hystricidae, all members of which have the same protective covering. The name means quilled pig or pig with spines. Porcupines are about 25 inches long. They are shy and solitary animals with a slow, waddling walk.

The porcupine shown above is the crested porcupine of Africa, southern Asia and southeastern Europe. Its quills measure up to 21 inches in length. It weighs between 40 and 60 pounds. Porcupines are also found in the Americas and Africa. Porcupines in the Americas are good tree climbers. Their spines are shorter, up to 3 inches, with a barbed tip. They do not hibernate in the winter and eat mostly bark during this time, which can cause a certain degree of damage to trees.

Porcupines mate in the fall and the young are born about seven months later. Female porcupines give birth to one offspring, sometimes two. Porcupine babies are called porcupettes. Their eyes are open at birth. The babies quills are soft at birth, but harden in a few days. At about two months of age, young porcupines are ready to live on their own.

The porcupine of the Americas has a lifespan in the wild of about 6 to 10 years.

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