Brookfield, Ill. – On March 19, the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, welcomed a new addition—a porcupette (baby porcupine) who was born on March 19. The newborn is being handreared by animal care staff after it was observed the porcupette’s mom, 9-year-old Lucia, was not providing her offspring proper maternal care.
The unsexed baby porcupine is thriving and being cared for around the clock by the animal care specialists. Currently, the porcupette is fed a formula, which was developed by CZS’s director of nutrition. As the baby develops, times between each feeding will increase until it is weaned at around 10 weeks old. Once weaned, staff will begin introducing the young porcupine to a diet consisting of a variety of vegetables, including sweet potato, green beans, corn, carrots, spinach, and kale, as well as a nutrient-based biscuit, peanuts, and sunflower seeds.
Don’t be put off by Fofo’s prickly appearance! As his name implies, Smithsonian National Zoo's 8-week-old prehensile-tailed porcupette is as “cute” as can be! Get to know Fofo in this Q+A with Small Mammal House keepers Maria Montgomery and Mimi Nowlin.
African crested porcupine, Cleo, gave birth to three porcupettes earlier this month at Palm Beach Zoo. The family unit will stay in their outfitted night house for the time being with daily "house call" health care checks by our veterinary team and zoologists. All three newborns are currently happy and healthy, but one of them is growing a bit slower than its siblings. In the wild world, having a “runt” of a litter is not uncommon. Unfortunately, a weaker newborn is much less likely to survive in nature. Here, the runt gets a second chance! Our animal care team is prepared for such situations and made the necessary decision to intervene. He/she is being hand-raised by animal experts with the hopes of being reintroduced to its family when the time is right. Until then, he/she is loving the extra attention from our volunteer porcu-sitters and zoologists.
LOTS MORE PHOTOS BELOW THE FOLD! : Zoologist Jen R
Prehensile-tailed porcupines, like Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s 2-week-old porcupette, are born with the ability to climb! At birth, their quills are soft, but they harden within minutes. The name prehensile means “capable of grasping”; the underside of its tail lacks quills, allowing the porcupine to grip branches with this appendage and navigate the forest canopy with ease.
All is well at ZOO Planckendael in the Netherlands. On Christmas Eve, they welcomed their fifth African Cape Porcupette this year! The baby joins siblings Wafa and Winga, born in February, as well as Willie and Wonka, born in June.
After 25 years without baby porcupettes at Planckendael, the 5 are a most welcome addition. Mom Stekeltje (Stake-el-che), the newborn baby, and siblings Willie and Wonka are bonding and adapting to the new family situation. Once the baby’s sex is known, he or she will receive a “W” name to match those of its siblings.
Despite appearances, porcupines are still fluffy at birth. Their quills harden over the first several weeks of life.
Just in time for World Porcupine Day, June 1, Nashville Zoo revealed THREE PRICKLY SURPRISES!
Three cape porcupines were born at the Zoo on Sunday morning, the 27th of June! This is Mkali & Jake's second litter of porcupettes and they're doing a great job.
The porcupettes had their first wellness check yesterday and all weighed in around 1 lb.
These three will remain behind the scenes for now but Nashville Zoo will be sure to share when you can see them! Make sure to follow the Zoo on their Social Media Channels.
Fluffy, spiked, and ready to delight: three new faces at Zoo New England are small in stature but big in the cute factor. The arrival of two scaly-sided merganser ducklings at Franklin Park Zoo and a prehensile-tailed porcupette at Stone Zoo have given Zoo staff and guests alike reason to celebrate this spring.
Two tiny porcupettes, or baby porcupines, have been born to mother Stekeltje and father Loki at ZOO Planckendael in Belgium. The babies have been named Wafa & Winga after more than 2.000 people voted for these name choices. It’s the first time this species has been born at Planckendael, although they’ve had porcupines in their care for 25 years!
Already squeaking and stamping their feet when just a few days old, twin Porcupettes were surprise arrivals at Cotswold Wildlife Park.
The baby Cape Porcupines, both males, stay close to mom Hannah and dad Prickles and have begun to show their unique personalities. The larger, more confident twin has been named Boulder. His shy brother has been named Shrimpy. The pair recently ventured outdoors for the first time and closely followed Prickles during that big adventure.
Photo Credit: Estelle Morgan
The babies are miniature versions of their parents and were born with a full set of quills. After a gestation period of approximately 112 days (the longest gestation period of any Rodent), the female gives birth to offspring covered in soft, moist and flexible quills, enclosed in a thin placental sac. Immediately after birth, the quills quickly harden in the air and become prickly. Porcupines are born relatively well developed with eyes open and teeth present.
Hannah and Prickles were only recently introduced to each other and the care team was surprised how quickly they bonded with each other.
According to their keeper, Hannah and Prickles immediately began grooming each other and slept side by side from day one of their introduction. Keepers hoped the pair would someday have their first litter, but they weren’t expecting babies quite so soon. This is only the second time in the Park’s forty-nine-year history this species has successfully bred.
Twenty-five different Porcupine species span the globe. Their Latin name means “quill pig,” a reference to the approximately 30,000 sharp quills that adorn their back. Contrary to popular belief, they cannot fire their quills at enemies, but the slightest touch can lodge dozens of barbed quills into a predator’s body. The quills are modified hairs made of keratin (the same material as human hair, fingernails and Rhino horns). Each quill has up to 800 barbs near the tip. If threatened, Porcupines reverse charge into a predator, stabbing the enemy with its sharp quills. The resulting wound can disable or even kill predators including Lions, Leopards and Hyenas.
Unfortunately, Porcupines’ unique defense is also the biggest threat to their survival. Although naturally shed, Porcupines are killed for their quills. In traditional African medicine, puncturing the skin with Porcupine quills is believed to heal ailments such as fainting, lethargy, swollen legs and lameness. Porcupine meat is also in demand for its reputed healing properties. Quills are sought after as ornaments and talismans. Cape Porcupines are native to the southernmost third of Africa.
