Sometimes
zoo babies are a surprise, and that’s exactly what happened when Molly, a North
American Porcupine, surprised keepers at the Woodland Park Zoo by delivering a male porcupette (the actual name for a baby Porcupine) on April 18.

Molly and her mate Oliver joined Woodland Park Zoo in June 2011 shortly after
their second birthdays. At such a young age, zookeepers expected that Oliver was
a year shy of sexual maturity, but Oliver wasn’t paying attention to the zoo
keepers’ timetable. As keepers look back, they now realize that Molly became pregnant
in September, giving her a seven-month gestation period before birthing the
pair’s first baby.

Photo Credit:  Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo

A porcupette is born with a full coat and open eyes, in contrast to many other
rodents. Within hours of birth its soft coat of quills begins to harden,
immediately preparing it for protection from predators. The baby becomes active
quickly and—as a natural tree dweller—its climbing instincts take hold within
weeks of delivery. That climbing ability will come in handy as the youngster
weans itself from mom and transitions to an herbivorous diet of leaves, twigs,
and bark.

Molly and the newborn are currently in
an off-exhibit den, though Molly sometimes leaves to stretch her legs in their
exhibit. In the wild, a mother Porcupine would leave the newborn to nest in a
safe area on the ground and she would retreat to the trees for food and
shelter.

In the warmth of their den box, the pair nuzzles close to one another until the
porcupette breaks free from her embrace and explores their shared space. Time
and time again, Molly will swoop her paws beneath his belly and pull him back
to her chest for what looks like a Porcupine hug.