Which of these animals is covered with spines?

Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. Porcupines occupy a small range of habitats in tropical and temperate parts of Asia, Southern Europe, Africa, and North and South America. They live in forests and deserts, rocky outcrops, and hillsides.

The word "porcupine" comes from Latin "porcus" pig + "spina" spine, quill. A regional American name for the animal is "quill-pig".

A baby porcupine is a porcupette. When born, a porcupette's quills are soft hardened hair. They harden within a few days, forming the sharp quills of adults.

Porcupines are seldom eaten in Western culture, but are very popular in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, where the prominent use of them as a food source has contributed to declines in their populations.

More commonly, their quills and guardhairs are used for traditional decorative clothing. For example, their guardhairs are used in the creation of the Native American "porky roach" headdress.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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19 Comments

Iriss Blaine

Come on. Lilly. I have grown weary of your obvious questions with the answers in their accompanying photos. And those lovely individuals at Quizz Club who approve such obvious questions need to be replaced by folks who have more than two functioning brain cells in their head. My gloves are OFF.

Coral Harvey

Jim Mascair, going by the folk lore of the Romani . They cooked hedgehogs in muddy clay over a fire so that when the clay hardened and the meat cooked it pulled the quils away from the meat !

Jim Mascair

I'm wondering how do they skin them in Viet Nam. Those quills are an imposing threat.

John W Shreve

I knew a Vietnamese family who ate porcupine, but I opted for water buffalo.

Puppermom

Bob Gorby, darn it! I thought shooting quills might be a super power! 😂

John McLardie

Iriss Blaine, questions from QC clones do not get submitted for approval. They bypass the whole process.

Johnny Rock

Thank you Lilly.

Bob Gorby

They are barbed, and hollow (hence, air-filled, hence buoyant). Can you get angry at someone and shoot your hairs at them? Neither can they shoot their quills: that Only happens in cartoons.