I was driving past Northwest Trek, a wildlife park
which also does extensive conservation work, and I suddenly wondered how on
Earth porcupines mate. Their quills are barbed so as to injure any critter that
tries to attack it, but doesn’t that seem like it would hinder mating?
So I did a little digging, and in addition to quills
being a roadblock to mating, females are frigid for 364.5 days a year (365.5 in
a leap year). However, when she is ready to go for 8-12 hours each year, she
will signal the males with secretions, which is how it typically works in the
animal world.
When it is time, the successful male may have to ward
off challengers. To set the mood, the female curls her tail over her back and
relaxes her skin, which flattens the quills and reduces risk of impalement.
They will do this several times until the female tires of her mate, who will go
in search of more females having that time of the year. The female will have a
seven month gestation period, followed by four months of lactation. Then after
a month, it’s time to start over again. In case you’re wondering, when baby
porcupines are born their hair is soft and hasn’t hardened into quills yet.
Childbirth is painful enough already.
Here's a Youtube video of how it happens.
This week’s facts courtesy of Live Science
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