porcupine: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	quill pig

Photos and Videos

A porcupine with long quills drinks from the edge of a small waterhole on dry, sandy ground in Namibia.

An adult porcupine nuzzles a baby porcupine as they sit together on a large fallen log, with green foliage in the background.

Observe a quill-bearing North American rodent ambling and eating in its natural habitat

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

New World porcupine Old World porcupine Do porcupine quills grow back?Are porcupines aggressive?rodent

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

Ultimate Animals Quiz

Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024

Animal Factoids

Giraffe standing in grass, Kenya.

Know Your Mammals Quiz

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names