 Cape Porcupine (Hystrix
africaeaustralis )
Description. The Cape (or African)
Porcupine is one of 5 species of crested porcupine. It is a large
rodent walking flat-footed on all fours. Its eyes and ears are very
small. The upper side of the body is dark brown, the underside is
blackish-brown and the throat band is white. The head, neck, shoulders
and legs have thin bristles while the underside has thick grooved
bristles. On the center line of the neck there is a white mane of wiry
bristle hairs that can reach approximately 30 cm in length.The end of
the tail has hollow bristles that are open at the end.These are known
as the “rattle-quills.” The difference between quills and spines is
largely one of length and thickness, with spines up to 50 cm long and
quills up to 30 cm long. The white and black crest of spines and quills
can be erected at will to make the animal look enormous and
threatening. The very sharp spines and quills come off when touched by
a predator or shaken off, but they grow back rapidly. South African
porcupines also have very long mobile whiskers.
Size. Head and body length of
60 to 83cm (25 to 34 inches), with a tail 8-17cm (4 to 7in) long. Mass
ranges from 18 to 30 kg (22 to 60 lb.). Females are, on average, about
one kilogram heavier than males.
Habitat. Cape Porcupines, endemic to
Southern Africa, are found from sea level to 2000 m above sea level in
most areas with vegetation. They are absent from moist rain forests and
completely dry regions. They prefer rocky hills and outcrops, as they
must have shelter during the day. They often take shelter in caves or
antbear holes. They also build dens which can be up to 20m long with a
2m deep living chamber.
 Behavior.
Cape Porcupines have interesting defensive behaviors. They have quite
acute hearing and will freeze when approached by predators, such as big
cats, large predatory birds, or hyaenas. When this animal is alarmed,
it erects its quills and rattles its tail: the quills make a loud noise
when shaken. The porcupine fights by moving backwards at a speed to
embed the quills into a soft part of its enemy's anatomy which then
causes painful wounds; alternatively, it will stop so suddenly that the
enemy will be impaled. Contrary to popular belief, porcupines do not
shoot their quills out, but the quills can fall out when shaken.When
cornered, these porcupines can be aggressive, runnning sideways or
backwards to embed their sharp quills in an attacker.
Diet. Hystrix
africaeaustralis are mostly
vegetarian, using their strong digging claws to get roots, tubers, and
bulbs. They are also fond of fallen fruits and will sometimes gnaw on
bark. Their anterior large intestine and enlarged appendix contain
microorganisms that break down undigested plant fibers. They have also
been reported to eat carrion in some instances. Porcupines gnaw on
bones in order to provide them with added phosphorous and calcium, and
bones often accumulate in their den.
Predators. Big cats and large
predatory birds.
Reproduction.
Male porcupines reach sexual maturity between eight and eighteen
months, while females reach sexual maturity between nine and sixteen
months. Because of their dangerous anatomy, females initiate copulation
by presenting to the males. The female initiates courtship at night,
and raises her tail, flattening her spines to allow the male to mate.
Gestation lasts for three months. The young are born in litters of one
to four into a grass-lined chamber in the parents' den during the wet
months of August to March. The average litter size is 1.5 and the
average newborn mass is 311g. Young are born relatively well-developed,
with their eyes open and teeth present. They have soft quills and
spines at birth, most likely to ease the birthing process. When born,
the young have 5 white stripes on their sides. Although small, they
leave the nest after only a week, at which point their spines begin to
harden. They begin eating solid food at 2-3 weeks and they lose the
white side stripes at 4 weeks. There appears to be no strict breeding
season, but females bear only one litter per year. They are
long-lived for rodents, surviving 12 to 15 years in the wild.
On
Wildcliff.
We often
find their quills. They are nocturnal and seldom seen.
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