Common Porcupine

Erethizon dorsatum

This unmistakable animal eats bark high in trees during winter, then shifts to plants on the ground in summer. Its quills are a good defense but do not keep all animals away. Fishers and Mountain Lions eat porcupines with little trouble. Although Common Porcupines cannot really shoot their quills, be very careful around them. They can swing their tails much farther, faster, and harder than you might expect. Dogs never seem to learn to keep away from them and are often injured.

Look For : A large, nearly round rodent covered with long quills. Western porcupines appear yellow; those in the East are dark brown to black.

Length : Body 20-25" long, tail 6-12" long; 8-40 lb.

Habitat : Pine and leafy forests (especially with rock ledges for dens) in the East and dry brushy areas in the West.

Range : Alaska and most of Canada and western U.S. south to Mexico; in East, south to Wisconsin, northern half of Michigan, and most of Pennsylvania, New York, and New England.