Friday, June 19, 2009

Porcupine Factoids

  • Baby porcupines are called "porcupettes"
  • The common porcupine is a good swimmer, its hollow quills help keep it afloat
  • Native Americans used to kill porcupines for their quills which they dyed and used to decorate clothing, jewelry and other items. Nowadays, they corner a porcupine and tap its back with a Styrofoam paddle to collect all the quills they need.
  • A group of porcupines is called a "prickle"
From Colorado Outdoors, Vol. 58, no. 1 (p. 54)

2 comments:

Suzique said...

Those are all so fun and funny they are unbelievable! but I'm working on it. I especially like porcupettes. I can see them dancing on stage in NYC, quills all aligned.

Anonymous said...

A prickle of porcupines. What a hoot!