PORCUPINE Hystrix africaeaustralis

Porcupines are large rodents, the largest in Africa. The most characteristic feature of porcupines are their quills, up to 40 cm long, cylindrical, stout and sharp. When alarmed the animal raises its quills and vibrates them to produce a rattling sound, if this warning does not work, the porcupine charges backwards with the quills directed to the rear. The quills are lightly rooted and easily detach from the porcupine, the animal cannot "shoot" the quills as in popular belief.

Porcupines are nocturnal, sheltering in daylight in Burrows made by themselves or Aardvark. They live in pairs or even small groups. They are exclusively vegetarian, feeding on bulbs and roots scratched out of the ground, as well as bark and fruit. They may do much damage in cultivated fields, being wasteful feeders.

The young - two, sometimes up to four in a litter - are born in the burrow. They do not leave the burrow until their quills are strong and hard, after about two weeks.