Species: Erethizon dorsatum
North American Porcupine
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Rodentia
Family
Erethizontidae
Genus
Erethizon
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Porcupine - porc-épic d'Amérique
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Rodents
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Rodentia - Erethizontidae - Erethizon
Ecology and Life History
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
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
2008-06-23
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-15
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
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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).