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Tom Thornton had to be extra careful when he snapped a close-up of this porcupine he encountered in May near Francis Walter Dam. While the notion that porcupines can project their quills is a myth, they do rely on them for protection.
Porcupines may have up to 30,000 quills, each covered with barbs, and they’re easily dislodged and can stick in the flesh of anything that touches one of the large rodents. Porcupines are the second-largest rodent in Pennsylvania – only the beaver is bigger. While their quills do serve as a deterrent, porcupines still have several predators in the wild, including foxes, coyotes and fishers.
And no, Thornton didn’t have to worry about dodging quills when he saw this porcupine, but he was certainly careful enough not to touch it.
Capture anything interesting on your hand-held or trail camera? A nice buck, bear, coyote or any other wildlife? We’d love to see it. Each week, we’ll run photos from a reader’s trail camera on the Sunday Outdoors page. Email your photo, along with date and area it was taken (township is fine), and any other details to [email protected].
— Tom Venesky
