A baby animal throwing a tantrum and falling off a deck is always going to be adorable, but when the baby animal is a porcupine, things can get a little prickly. In this wholesome clip from the Unhinged Menagerie YouTube channel, you can watch a little porcupine get into trouble while eating dinner with his mother and then tumble into the grass. He is later rescued by the homeowner and returned to his mom, but not before leaving a quill in his rescuer’s glove!
About Porcupines
Porcupines are large rodents in the Erethizontidae (New World) or Hystricidae (Old World) family. The ones in this clip are North American porcupines, Erethizon dorsatum, which have the northernmost range of all porcupines. They are found throughout much of North America, ranging from the Arctic Ocean to northern Mexico. This video footage was captured in Nova Scotia, Canada. North American porcupines live in open tundra, deciduous forests, and desert chaparral. They feed on plants, primarily at night.
Is the Baby Porcupine Having a Tantrum?
Anthropomorphism is when we attribute human emotional and behavioral features to animals. It is an amusing thing to do and can be very entertaining, but you also need to take care when doing it. Animals do not experience exactly the same emotions as human,s and so we need to be cautious about interpreting their actions. In this clip, you see a young porcupine spinning in a circle, which is reminiscent of a human toddler throwing a tantrum.
However, for porcupines, spinning is a defense mechanism. They are hunted by several predators, including lynx, bobcats, coyotes, wolves, and wolverines. The baby is unsure of the humans around him and is spinning to show off his quills and, hopefully, persuade the threat to back off. Unfortunately, his coordination is not yet fully developed, and he tumbles off the deck. Now he really does have a problem because he can’t get back up. Meanwhile, his Mom continues eating her dinner!
Deploying Quills
Porcupine quills have barbs on the ends.
©Jukka Jantunen/Shutterstock.com
Even though the rescuer is extremely gentle when lifting the baby back onto the deck, the young animal is still very stressed. Porcupines who feel threatened emit a high-pitched warning vocalization – this is the squeak you can clearly hear in the clip. If that does not work, they can also deploy a chemical odor. Next come the quills!
Porcupine quills typically range from 1 to 2.5 inches long, though some can reach up to three inches. They have microscopic barbs on the tip so they fix into whatever they have poked! The quills can be used defensively as a shield (as the baby does when turning in circles) or offensively, as when he tries to poke the man who attempts to pick him up. Once the quill sticks into the attacker, it is released from the porcupine’s body easily. Thanks to their special design, they work their way deeper into the victim, which in this case is a glove! This porcupette has had his quills from birth. At first they are soft, but they harden within an hour. His quills are very similar to his mom’s, just a little shorter, and he is still learning how to use them and how to distinguish friend from foe!
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