Status: Common; not threatened.Range: Southern Africa.Habitat: Forests, deserts, grasslands, and mountainous regions up to 6,560 feet (2,000 m).Food: Roots, tubers, bark, fruit, berries, blossoms, leaves.Reproduction: Males and females are monogamous. Between 1-4 young, called “porcupettes”, are born in a burrow after a gestation period of about 94 days.Facts: The crested porcupine is the largest and heaviest African rodent measuring up to 32 in. (80.5 cm) long and weighing up to 47 lb. (21.4 kg). They are nocturnal animals that can travel up to 9 miles (14.5 km) in a night in the wild. When alarmed, porcupines will raise their quills much like a human gets “goose bumps.” Porcupines cannot “shoot” their quills, but they do come out easily.
