Fun porcupine facts: 1) A family of porcupines is called a prickle. 2) The Latin translation of porcupine is “porcus,” meaning pig, and “spina,” meaning thorn. 3) Porcupine quills may be as dense as 150 quills per square inch. #FingerPrickingGood | San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Porcupine nurses her baby! A porcupette or baby porcupine, born this year at the Emperor Valley Zoo, is seen nursing from its mother. A female Prehensile-tailed porcupine, usually gives birth to a single offspring at a time. She will suckle her young for about 3 months. The baby is then slowly introduced to solid foods. This porcupette has already begun foraging for food but will still sometimes nurse from mom. It will grow to adult size in less than a year and will reach sexual maturity in less

7.8K views · 718 reactions | ❤️璉 Baby prehensile-tailed porcupines, called "porcupettes," are born with the ability to climb! At birth, their quills are soft, but they harden within minutes. Meet our adult porcupines, Beatrix and Quillbur, at the Small Mammal House! | Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute | Facebook