LEAST CONCERN
CRESTED PORCUPINE
HYSTRIX CRISTATA
Crested porcupines are nocturnal rodents known for their impressive quills, which they use as a defense mechanism against predators. These animals are primarily found in Africa, thriving in a variety of habitats, including forests and grasslands. Crested porcupines are herbivorous, feeding on roots, fruits, and bark.
HABITAT
Crested porcupines can be found in rocky, mountainous areas, scrublands, forests, and cultivated land in Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and Italy.
DIET
Crested porcupines eat tubers, bark, bulbs, fallen fruit and cultivated root crops.
Porcupines may gnaw on bones to sharpen their teeth and to get salt at the same time. Their strong teeth and jaws even help them crack open nuts.
BEHAVIOUR
Porcupines can't fire their quills!
When threatened, they stamps their feet, grunt and rattle their quills to scare off predators. If that doesn't work, they charge backwards into any threat.
Crested porcupines are nocturnal and forage alone at night, travelling up to 9 miles in their search for food. They return to the den and rest during the day.
THREATS
Crested porcupines are Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Although classified as Least Concern, crested porcupines face a number of threats, including habitat destruction, illegal hunting for meat, and persecution as agricultural pests.
In Morocco, they are widely used for traditional medicine and witchcraft.