Species: Erethizon dorsatum

North American Porcupine
Species
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Mammalia

    Order

    Rodentia

    Family

    Erethizontidae

    Genus

    Erethizon

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    Porcupine - porc-épic d'Amérique
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Rodents
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Rodentia - Erethizontidae - Erethizon
    Migration
    true - false - false
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Feeds on inner bark of trees and on evergreen needles in winter; buds in spring; roots, leaves, berries, fruits, and seeds in summer; mast and fruits in fall. Preferred tree species are hemlock and sugar maple in Northeast, white pine in Great Lakes, and yellow pine. In the northern Great Basin, depleted energy reserves early in winter and were stressed nutritionally during late winter (Sweitzer and Berger, 1993, J. Mamm. 74:198-203).
    Reproduction Comments
    Breeds September to November or December. Gestation lasts 17-18 weeks, usually 210 days, with births in spring. Lactation lasts about 4 months (spring-summer). Only one young is reared each year. Sexually mature in 15-16 months. In the Great Basin, Nevada, one of 13 juveniles, 100% of 2 and 3 year olds, and 90% of individuals 4 years old or older were pregnant (Sweitzer and Holcombe, 1993, J. Mamm. 74:769-776).
    Ecology Comments
    Summer range may average up to 50-100 ha; winter range is less if there is much snow cover. Density may be 25-58/sq mile in good habitat (Baker 1983).
    Length
    93
    Weight
    18000
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    2008-06-23
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-11-15
    Other Status

    LC - Least concern

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S5&CA.BC=S4&CA.LB=S5&CA.MB=S5&CA.NB=S5&CA.NT=S4&CA.NS=S5&CA.NU=SNR&CA.ON=S5&CA.QC=S4&CA.SK=S5&CA.YT=S5&US.AK=S5&US.AZ=S4&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S5&US.CT=S5&US.ID=S5&US.IL=SX&US.IN=SX&US.IA=SX&US.KS=S3&US.ME=S5&US.MD=S1&US.MA=S5&US.MI=S5&US.MN=SNR&US.MT=S4&US.NN=S5&US.NE=S4&US.NV=S5&US.NH=S5&US.NJ=S4&US.NM=S5&US.NY=S5&US.NC=SX&US.ND=SNR&US.OH=SX&US.OK=S3&US.OR=S5&US.PA=S5&US.RI=S3&US.SD=S5&US.TX=S5&US.UT=S4&US.VT=S5&US.VA=SX&US.WA=S5&US.WV=SNR&US.WI=S4&US.WY=S5" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    Range extends from central Alaska eastward to southern Hudson Bay and Labrador, and south in eastern North America to the northeastern United States (New England, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Maryland, and formerly to Virginia and North Carolina) and in central and western North America to central Texas, northern Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sonora, and southern California (Rose and Ilse, in Feldhamer et al. 2003).
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101195