North American Porcupine

discussion

COMMENT: Reviewed by Miller and Kellogg, 1955, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 205: 631, who restricted the type locality; also see Anderson and Rand, 1943, Can. J. Res., 21: 292 - 309. Includes couesi; see review by Woods, 1973, Mamm. Species, 29: 1 - 6.

Order Rodentia (Part 6)

distribution

DISTRIBUTION: C. Alaska (U. S. A.) to S. Hudson Bay and Labrador (Canada), south to E. Tennessee, and C. Iowa, C. Texas (U. S. A.), N. Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Sonora (Mexico), and S. California (U. S. A.).

Order Rodentia (Part 6)

activity

Activity patterns. North American Porcupines are arboreal and nocturnal and remain active year-round, enduring low winter temperatures (e. g. — 39 ° C) while consuming woody plants low in nitrogen and high in fiber and plant secondary metabolites. To survive harsh winter conditions, porcupines rely on fat stores accumulated from late spring to late summer. During winter, fat mass declines from an average of 50 % to 27 %. Fat losses are minimized by lowering rates of energy expenditure, not body temperature. Adult males begin to lose mass during early breeding period in autumn.

Erethizontidae

biology_ecology

Habitat. Variety of habitats across a large geographical distribution. In the northern part of its distribution, the North American Porcupine can be found in tundra and boreal forest. In the eastern part ofits distribution, it is found in deciduous, mixed, and coniferous forests. In the western and south-western parts of its distribution, it is found in hemlock (7 T 5 uga, Pinaceae) forest, mixed coniferous forest, oak (Quercus, Fagaceae) forest, and scrub desert habitat. Individual habitat selection is sometimes a function of perceived predation risk; in the Great Basin, sleeping adults andjuveniles generally avoided open areas and moved into higherrisk foraging areas more often as body condition deteriorated.

Erethizontidae