A message about a porcupine. Animal porcupine photo and the most important thing about it What a porcupine can do
The southern night wrapped the earth in a black velvet blanket. The moon was in no hurry to rise, and therefore there was absolute darkness in the melon patch, where the juicy and fragrant melons were ripening. A branch crunched in the bushes, and a porcupine appeared at the edge of the field. He stood for a while, carefully listening to the night rustles and sniffing the smells, then noisily stomped towards the center of the field. His sense of smell unerringly led him to the ripest yellow fruits. He chose the melon with the most tempting aroma and began to eat it, nibbling piece by piece with his sharp incisors.
The appearance of the Indian porcupine is so original that it is difficult to confuse it with another animal. His business card- long needles located on the sides, back and tail. This is the main defense against enemies. During the ripening of melons, watermelons, pumpkins and grapes, porcupines feed on the fruits of cultivated plants and often damage more than they can eat. For this reason, prickly animals were considered notorious pests until recently. Agriculture and were destroyed everywhere. Now the number of the species has fallen to such an extent that the porcupine is facing extinction.
BLIND BUT TOOTHY
The porcupine has poorly developed eyesight, but this deficiency is compensated by excellent hearing and smell. It is the keen sense of smell that helps the animal find tasty roots underground. Its front teeth, like those of all rodents, are covered on the outside with a particularly thick layer of enamel. When a porcupine chews, the incisors are ground at an angle, like a chisel, and always remain sharp. They grow throughout their lives. The porcupine deftly uses its front paws, holding food with them while eating. He drinks a lot, and it is very important for him to have a source of water close to his habitat.
DOUBLE PROTECTION
Without its quills, a porcupine would be very vulnerable. He runs slowly and heavily and is quite clumsy. Its claws can dig up the ground in search of food, but they are not suitable as protection against the enemy. It defends itself against numerous predators who are always ready to feast on delicious porcupine meat with the help of quills. They grow among the animal's fur. In fact, these are highly keratinized hairs.
Newborn porcupines have soft quills. They become hard and sharp at one week of age. The needles are tubes filled with spongy horny mass. They come in two types. The first ones, long and flexible, reach 40 cm.
They fall out easily and cannot cause serious injury. The second ones, short and hard, no longer than 15-30 cm and 0.5 cm thick, can even pierce the leather of an army boot.
When an irritated porcupine shakes its tail, the quills covering it, like rattles, emit a characteristic crackling sound. This sound is a warning to the enemy that the next step will be an attack.
The belief that a porcupine throws quills at its pursuers like arrows is nothing more than fiction. They are really easy to separate from the body, but the strength of the animal’s subcutaneous muscles is not enough to send them flying. The porcupine can poke the enemy with its quills in a lightning-fast, barely perceptible movement, and then jump back again. Thanks to the microscopic barbs at the tips, the spines get stuck in the predator's body, causing inflammation and severe pain.
WHERE DOES THE PORCHIEVE LIVE?
The Porcupine family includes five genera and two subfamilies. The range of porcupines is the Mediterranean, Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, and the Caucasus.
There is only one species - the Indian porcupine. He lives in Southern Mangyshlak, in the Kyrgyz and Talas Alatau, west of Almaty, along the valleys of the Aksai, Kyrgauldy, Kozhai, and Kaskelen rivers. It rises into the mountains up to 2500 m above sea level, it has been seen on the Zhetyzhol ridge and the Kendyktas mountains. This species is rare in the Aksu-Dzhabagly Nature Reserve; it is listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan. In 1983, scientists conducted a census of porcupine burrows in the Kara-Tau mountains and on 200 square meters. km there were more than 200 of them.
This rodent lives both in deciduous forests and in feather-grass-steppe areas. It can settle on rocky terraces and canyon cliffs, where shrubs alternate with tugai thickets and juniper forests. The southern mountain slopes have little snow in winter, which allows the porcupine to find food for itself - bulbs and rhizomes of ephemeral plants.
The rodent makes its home in a dry place protected from the wind. This can be a hollow tree or a depression among stone blocks and boulders, which he expands, and then digs out passages up to 20 m long and up to 4 m deep with several exits. The porcupine is not averse to occupying other people's burrows. In search of food, it can move away from its home at a distance of up to 2-3 km, but always returns. He is very attached to his burrows and prefers to spend his entire life in one place.
The porcupine is a secretive nocturnal animal. Its presence is revealed by burrows, tracks on soft ground, scattered needles and characteristic gnaws. In winter, the porcupine does not hibernate, but its activity noticeably decreases, and in frosts of -20 “Sleep does not leave the hole at all. It moves through the snow on its short legs very slowly and clumsily. It becomes difficult for him to get food. Lack of food during snowy and frosty winters is one of the reasons for the mass death of these animals.
PINKY FAMILY
For porcupines inhabiting the foothills, the rut begins in February-March, for the inhabitants of the mountains - later, sometimes even in June. Animals reach sexual maturity at the age of two. Females attract partners with a special smell. They are ready for mating in only 8-12 hours. Males stage battles for the attention of beautiful ladies: they squeal loudly, snort, grunt and rattle their quills.
The family life of these rodents has been little studied. Research carried out in 2010 showed that porcupines can form strong alliances. The area of the protected plot of a married couple ranges from 0.3 to 1.2 square meters. km. Single porcupines do not enter the territory of family porcupines and do not protect theirs. The male and female go out together for night feeding. They stay no more than a meter apart from each other, often almost close together. Partners often brush their fur and sniff each other. This helps strengthen family ties.
Pregnancy lasts 110-115 days. There are from 2 to 5 cubs in a brood. Porcupines are caring parents; they drive strangers away from their burrows and take turns keeping their babies warm. The female feeds the cubs with milk for several weeks. But even after starting to feed on their own, young porcupines live for a long time on the parent site. Only by the age of two years do they settle down and acquire their own burrows.
INDIAN PORCUBE IN THE FOOD CHAIN
The porcupine is a herbivore. The basis of its nutrition consists of succulent rhizomes and bulbs of plants, fallen fruits, cereal greens, winter period- bark and branches.
NUTRITION OF THE INDIAN PORCHIEVE
EREMURUS MACTIFLORUM
A plant of the lily family up to 80 tons in height. It has a thickened fusiform rhizome surrounded by fibrous remains of old leaves. Flower raceme - up to 40 cm, flowers are milky white, large, sitting on long stalks. Blooms in April-May. Local population extracts a sticky substance from this plant. The natural habitat is located in the Syrdarya Karatau and Chu-Ili mountains, rising to the subalpine belt. The porcupine eats the succulent rhizomes and stems of the plant.
JUNIPER TURKESTAN
An evergreen coniferous plant of the cypress family. Forms large (up to 10-15 mm long) cone berries. Juniper is changeable, can look like a tree up to 18 m tall or a squat bush no higher than 2 m. It grows in the mountains Central Asia, on the border of the forest belt at altitudes from 900 to 3900 m above sea level. Above 2800 it forms frequent forests called juniper forests. In winter, the porcupine eats the bark of the juniper tree.
KOROLKOVIYA SEVERTSOVA
A bulbous plant named after the amateur botanist N. I. Korolkov and the outstanding Russian zoogeographer N. A. Severtsov. It has a juicy round bulb up to 5 cm in diameter, which attracts porcupines. It contains 40% starch and 10 o alkaloids. The stem is up to 70 cm tall, bare, strong, with alternate leaves. The inflorescence is an apical raceme with numerous (up to 25 pieces) bell-shaped drooping flowers. It grows on clayey foothills, among thickets of bushes, on gravelly slopes, in apple groves up to 2400 m above sea level.
MELON
Melon crop, plant of the pumpkin family, cucumber genus. The fruit has a round or oval shape, contains vitamins A, P, C, carotene, folic acid, fats, mineral salts of iron, sodium, potassium, sugar, fiber. Melon is grown outdoors sunny place with moderate watering. It does not tolerate excess moisture and shading. The porcupine eats the fruit itself and the ripened seeds.
ENEMIES OF THE INDIAN PORCHIEVE
TIEN SHAN BROWN BEAR
Distinct subspecies brown bear, living in the Pamir, Himalaya and Tien Shan mountains. A distinctive feature is light spots on the front legs. Slightly smaller than an ordinary brown bear: it weighs up to 300 kg and has a body length of up to 140 cm. Males are larger than females. The general body color is light brown with a reddish collar. The bear is omnivorous, the basis of its diet is various parts of plants (stems, roots, tubers, bulbs and rhizomes), berries, insects and their larvae, various mollusks, small mammals, carrion. A hungry animal can crush a porcupine, despite its spines.
There is a legend that tigers become cannibals after meeting porcupines. Sharp needles as thick as a pencil dig into the predator's muzzle, causing unbearable pain. The tiger can no longer hunt ungulates, and humans become its easiest prey.
Porcupines are highly tamed and can breed in captivity. They are peaceful and trainable, and can often be seen in zoos and in the circus arena.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF
Class: mammals.
Order: rodents.
Family: Porcupines.
Genus: porcupines.
Species: Indian porcupine.
Latin name: Hystrix indica.
Size: body length - 79-82 cm, tail - 13.8 cm.
Weight: about 18 kg.
Color: the general tone is brown, the needles have alternating black and white stripes.
Porcupine lifespan: up to 15 years.
crested porcupine, or crested porcupine(Hystrix cristata)
Class - mammals
Squad - Rodents
Family - Porcupines
Genus - Porcupines
Appearance
Porcupine is a large rodent; the second largest in the fauna of the Old World after the beaver and the third among rodents in general after the beaver and the even larger South American capybara. The weight of well-fed males reaches 27 kg, although usually much less (8-12 kg). The body length can be up to 90 cm, the tail length is another 10-15 cm.
The thick, stocky body is covered with densely arranged, short and long needles. The needles are alternately dark or black-brown and white (ringed), smooth, pointed, sit loosely in the skin and therefore fall out easily. There are also coarse bristle-like hairs mixed in between the needles. On the sides of the body, on the shoulders and sacrum, the needles are shorter and blunter than in the middle of the back. There is a hard ridge on the head (hence the name of the porcupine - combed).
There are two types of porcupine quills - the first, long and flexible, reach a length of 40 cm or more, the other quills are shorter and harder, only 15 - 30 cm long, but up to half a centimeter thick. The tail quills have cut off tops and are essentially open tubes. All needles are hollow inside or filled with spongy horny mass. With the help of a highly developed system of subcutaneous muscles, all needles can, at the will of the animal, rise and bend back.
The underside of the body is covered with dark brown hair. The porcupine's muzzle is blunt and rounded, covered with dark hair. There are no needles on the face. The eyes are round and small. The ears are small and almost invisible. The teeth, like all rodents, are strong; The incisors are especially developed, covered with orange enamel, which are clearly visible from the outside even when the animal closes its mouth.
Legs are short and clumsy. It moves slowly, waddling, although when pursued it can break into a heavy run.
Habitat
Porcupine is found in Southern Europe(mainland Italy and Sicily), in Asia Minor, almost everywhere in the Middle East, Iraq, Iran and further east to southern China. It is found almost throughout India and Ceylon, as well as in certain areas South-East Asia. Individual spots of its range cover the south and west of the Arabian Peninsula.
In the territory of the former USSR, the porcupine can be found in the south of Central Asia and Transcaucasia.
The porcupine is predominantly a mountain animal, also living in foothill plains, including cultivated ones, although it is occasionally found in sandy deserts.
Behavior
Settling among the rocks, the porcupine makes a lair in caves and natural depressions, in deserts - between stones; in softer soil it digs burrows that have a complex structure and are equipped with several exits. The porcupine burrow often exceeds 10 m in length, going underground up to 4 m. The burrow has 2-3 extensions; in one of them there is a nest lined with greenery. The porcupine is not particularly afraid of human proximity and often settles near villages.
The porcupine is almost exclusively a nocturnal animal. He spends the day in a hole and comes out only when complete darkness sets in. The porcupine does not hibernate in winter, but in cold weather it is less active and leaves the den less often. During the night it can go several kilometers from its home.
Feeds on plant foods. In spring and summer it eats green parts of plants, roots, bulbs and tubers. Later, in the fall, after the ripening of cultivated plants, it feeds mainly on their fruits - it eats watermelons, melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, grapes, and alfalfa. In winter, it eats a lot of tree bark, gnawing the lower parts of trees. Occasionally, apparently to compensate for the lack of salt in the body, it eats insects.
Reproduction
In the northern parts of the range, mating usually occurs in March. Pregnancy lasts 110-115 days, after which the female gives birth to 2-3 cubs, sometimes up to 5. In more southern parts range, mating is not confined to a specific season, and per year there is not one, as in the north, but 2 or even 3 broods. Zoos also reported 3 litters per year.
Cubs are born sighted and with developed teeth. Their needles are very soft at first, but harden very quickly and after just a week they are capable of giving a strong prick. Milk feeding does not last long - perhaps no more than two weeks.
In captivity, porcupines easily become tame, although sometimes they remain shy and shake their quills in fear.
Although porcupines are considered nocturnal animals, in captivity they will walk during the day.
The enclosure must be strong. The porcupine will turn any wooden and plastic products into dust. The bottom of the enclosure should be concrete or lined with metal mesh. It is necessary to install a shelter (burrow, booth) in the enclosure.
In their diet, porcupines are not much different from an ordinary domestic rabbit: rodent pellets, fruits, vegetables. Most of all he loves apples, carrots, and Jerusalem artichokes. It is necessary to add branches of fruit trees, vitamins, minerals (chalk), as well as dry dog food as a source of protein.
Life expectancy in captivity is 20 years.
Porcupines are amazing animals that cannot be confused with other representatives of the fauna. The length of porcupine quills can reach 50 cm and have a thickness of about 7 mm.
Previously, the animal had fur, but in the process of development, soft bristles were replaced by harder hair.
Between the long needles grow elongated spines up to 15–30 cm long, which serve as cover for the delicate fur of the porcupine.
Porcupine quills
The porcupine animal has hair on its head, lower limbs and body, and the animal's tail has bristles with thick quills. When danger approaches, the porcupine raises its needle-like “coat,” making a rattling sound with a crash.
The quills of the porcupine are colored black and white, and the bristly part is colored brown.
Below are photos of a porcupine.
Structure
The length of the body depends on the type of porcupine, so it can range from 35 to 90 cm, the weight of the animal ranges from 2 to 27 kg. Below are photos of the porcupine animal, where you can get acquainted with the various individuals in more detail.
The mass of a porcupine depends not only on the species, but also on the density of the body structure.
The animal's legs are short and covered with small hairs. Due to its small limbs, the porcupine's movement looks clumsy and slow. However, in case of danger, these representatives of the fauna are able to run.
The forelimbs have 3 or 4 fingers, the hind legs are five-toed. Each finger has a black claw. The sole of the paws is smooth.
In most groups of porcupines, the tail length varies from 6 to 15 cm. The exception is the long-tailed and brush-tailed porcupines, in which the tail grows up to 25 cm.
The animal's skull has a slightly elongated shape, and the muzzle is blunt and rounded. The head of most porcupines is covered with a short woolly hair or comb of bristles.
Porcupine teeth
The animal has molars with an almost flat chewing base. The incisors are quite developed, and due to their orange color they are clearly visible even with the mouth closed.
The porcupine is not in danger of completely wearing down its teeth, because they grow throughout their lives. The total number of all porcupine teeth is 20 pieces.
The eyes, ears and voice of a porcupine
The shape of the eyes of porcupines is round, their size is quite small. The animal's ears are inconspicuous and resemble and slightly resemble human auricles.
The porcupine at rest is a silent species of animal. However, when displeased or in danger, they begin to grunt and puff.
Lifespan
The life of a porcupine in captivity increases several times. IN wildlife animals live up to 10 years.
Enemies of the porcupine
There are many opponents and hunters of porcupine: Bears; Wolves; Lynx; Foxes.
Some sources cite attempts by the American eagle owl to get the spiny animal as prey.
The massiveness of the enemy does not frighten the porcupine; when alarm approaches, the porcupine raises its quills and loudly begins to stomp its feet, making loud sounds. If this attempt at defense does not scare off the enemy, then the porcupine goes on the offensive, jumping at the enemy with bulging quills.
Wounded animals are not able to remove the needles from the body themselves, so, exhausted from hunger, they look for easy prey.
The main enemy of the porcupine is the crocodile and man. Scientists have found the remains of porcupines in the stomachs of some crocodiles.
Porcupine and man
A porcupine in the wild does not cause any harm to humans at rest. However, if an animal ends up on an agricultural plantation, then it will definitely have somewhere to roam.
This type of animal will easily eat crops, dig up the ground and even gnaw through watering hoses. Such tactless behavior became the basis for the initiation of a policy of extermination of these animals.
Another reason for hunting porcupines is the meat of an animal that resembles the taste of a rabbit, only more juicy and tender.
Does a porcupine shoot quills?
Most of us mistakenly think that a porcupine, when an alarm is approaching, shoots a lot of quills at the enemy.
This assumption is a myth. Due to the fragile attachment of the quills to the body, they simply fall off at the moment of a sharp attack by the porcupine.
Do needles contain poison?
When an enemy is hit with a needle, it penetrates quite deeply into the tissue. The needles themselves do not contain any poison. However, in the process of wearing protective equipment, many types of bacteria and dirt accumulate on the porcupine’s body.
Therefore, when an animal is wounded, it simply causes suppuration and then blood poisoning. Which can be fatal.
Photo of a porcupine
The porcupine is a rodent that lives in Southeast Asia, southern Europe and in the countries of Asia Minor and the Middle East. This animal can also be found in Sri Lanka and Indochina. These rodents, noticeable from afar, inhabit mainly mountainous areas, but they can also live in deserts and plains.
Most of the time, the porcupine hides in caves, under tree roots or between stones. Rodents dig large burrows in soft soils—sometimes a porcupine burrow can reach 10 meters in length. Agile animals are trying to find a shelter from which they can get out in at least two ways.
It is easy to distinguish a porcupine from other rodents - its body is covered with quills, the length of which can reach half a meter. The porcupine itself can reach a meter in length. The needles of this unusual rodent can be black and white, black or brown. A porcupine's quills change over the course of its life. In total, the number of quills on a porcupine’s body can reach 30,000 pieces. Its needles perform a protective function and help the rodent float on the water - the needles are hollow. However, the assumption that a porcupine can shoot quills is incorrect - this animal can only throw away its quills if a predator touches them. But there are no quills on the porcupine’s elongated snout or abdomen. Like all rodents, the porcupine has sharp teeth.
The porcupine is primarily nocturnal. The main food of the rodent is vegetation and small insects - in the summer, the porcupine does not have problems with food. In winter, these animals move closer to villages, where they can steal food from people's gardens and cellars. Also in winter, porcupines feed on bark. In winter, rodents rarely leave their burrows, and with the onset of March they begin to reproduce. The female can give birth to two to five cubs.
Cute porcupine eating corn
The talking porcupine eats a pumpkin and praises
Squad - Rodents
Family - Porcupines
Genus/Species - Hystrix cristata. Crested porcupine, crested porcupine, common porcupine
Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Length: 60-80 cm.
Weight: 13-25 kg.
REPRODUCTION
Puberty: from 2 years old.
Number of litters: 2-3 per year.
Number of cubs: usually 2-3 per litter.
Pregnancy: 110-115 days.
LIFESTYLE
Habits: Porcupines (see photo) usually live alone and only in mating season - in pairs.
Habitat: prefers rocky areas with plenty of plants.
Sounds: loud rumbling.
Food: roots, tubers and fruits.
Lifespan: in nature 12-15 years, in captivity - longer.
RELATED SPECIES
There are five species of porcupines belonging to the genus Hystrix. The other four species are the South African, Malayan, Javan and Indian porcupines.
The crested porcupine is not only the largest, but also the best armed member of the porcupine family. Like other rodents, its teeth grow continuously throughout its life. Therefore, in order to grind them down, the animal has to constantly gnaw hard branches, roots or bones.
REPRODUCTION
Crested porcupines are solitary, and only during mating do these animals form pairs. Porcupines willingly settle in rock crevices and underground burrows. They occupy abandoned burrows of other animals or dig them themselves. The holes dug by porcupines reach 10 m in length and go underground to a depth of 4 m. The hole has 2-3 expansions. In one of these rooms the female makes a nest. The female goes into estrus approximately every 35 days. She usually gives birth to cubs 2-3 times a year. Before mating, partners lick each other.
When the female is ready to mate, she lies on the ground and presses the quills to her body so that the male does not injure himself on them during the act. Pregnancy lasts approximately 110-115 days. The female gives birth to 2-3 cubs, which are born covered with bristly hair. Their needles are still soft, but after a week they can hurt. Babies are born with their eyes open. The mother feeds them milk. After a few weeks, babies are already eating solid food.
FOOD
At dusk, the common porcupine leaves its shelter and slowly, carefully looking around, goes in search of food. Most often, the animal wanders all night not far from its hole or cave, in the crevice of which it lives. The combed porcupine's menu consists of various roots, tubers, fallen fruits, leaves, perennial herbs and berries. The porcupine has rather poor eyesight, so the animal relies mainly on its remarkable sense of smell. Good hearing also plays an important role in searching for food. He can hear the sound of fruits falling to the ground from a great distance. When eating food, the crested porcupine supports it with its front paws.
SELF DEFENSE
Only a few animals decide to fight a porcupine. The exception is and. However, even these big cats must be very hungry to risk attacking a porcupine. The dark brown back of the porcupine's body is densely covered with sharp, black and white quills. Very hard needles that have sharp, cylindrical tips at the end, usually grow up to 30 cm. Under these needles are white and short tail spines. If a crested porcupine is attacked or feels threatened, the animal immediately raises its quills and begins to rattle them. If the enemy was not driven away, then the animal advances on the enemy with its back. The quills of the crested porcupine are loosely attached to the skin, and their ends are covered with small burrs, which, at the slightest touch, stick and penetrate the body of the enemy. It is very difficult to remove them. Wounds after an injection very often become inflamed and can even lead to the death of the animal. Therefore, the porcupine is perfectly armed and protected from attacks by natural enemies.
INTERESTING INFORMATION. DID YOU KNOW THAT...
- It used to be believed that a porcupine that was attacked could shoot quills from its tail like arrows.
- Local residents used to make arrowheads and spearheads from quills of the porcupine comb.
- In almost every hole of the common porcupine, bones and hard branches are found. The animal gnaws on them, grinding down the incisors, which grow throughout its life.
- The porcupine lives on the ground. The North American tree porcupine, or porcupine, which belongs to a different family, lives in trees.
- The crested porcupine can drink almost silently a large number of water. This animal is also an amazingly good swimmer.
FEATURES OF PORCUBE. DESCRIPTION
Crest: consists of backward-directed, very long, white and gray setae. At the request of the animal, the bristles can rise, forming a long, spiky comb.
Needles: the surface is covered with small burrs. The needles are very close, short and long, smooth, pointed, and sit loosely in the skin. Having buried themselves in the body of an enemy, they immediately break away.
Protection method: If the crested porcupine feels threatened or frightened by something, it immediately turns towards the source of the threat with its rear part of its body and bristles with sharp quills. When very angry, the animal stomps its hind legs; a captured porcupine makes a cry similar to a grunt.
Tail rattle: The tail quills of the combed porcupine are hollow at the end. They look like tubes. The tail rattle makes a rattling sound that scares away enemies.
WHERE DOES THE PORCHIEVE LIVE?
The common porcupine is found throughout North Africa, with the exception of the Sahara, as well as in southern Italy, Sicily and Greece - it is believed that it was brought here by the ancient Romans.