610 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



a deep crevice of a low, rocky ledge. The bed was a poor 

 affair, and outside of it was a great pile of dung, showing that 

 it had been the animal's headquarters for a long time. 



MATING The marriage customs of the Porcupine are practically- 



unknown. Those whose opportunities are such that they should 

 know have filled the unfortunate blanks with some rare and 

 picturesque myths that need not be recorded. I never saw 

 one of this species at the time of copulation, but witnessed 

 the act of the Crested Porcupine, and found it not different 

 from that of other rodents. The female had such control of 

 the posterior quills that they were radiated out of the way; 

 obviously she had complete control of the situation. 



Richardson*" and other northern travellers say that it pairs 

 in September. The evidence is complete that the mating 

 takes place in fall; at least this fits in with other facts of the 

 case, because the young are born about the end of April or 

 first of May, and are of remarkable size, which is guarantee of 

 a long gestation. 



Since the above was written I have learnt from Bert A. 

 Dobson, the Adirondack guide (of Wanakena), that he once 

 witnessed the mating of Porcupines, and that it took place 

 late in October. The place of meeting was high up among 

 the branches of a large tree. 



All evidence goes to prove that the father takes no interest 

 in his offspring. 



YOUNG The young are generally i or 2 in number, sometimes 3 



or even 4. According to Merriam,^* they *'are born about the 

 first of May, and are monstrous for the size of the species. 

 They are actually larger, and relatively more than 30 times 

 larger, than the young of the Blackbear at birth. 



"May I, 1882, I shot, at Big Moose Lake, a female 

 Porcupine which contained a foetus that would certainly have 

 been born within three or four days. It weighed ij pounds 



" F. B. A., 1829, Pt. I, p. 215. " Mam. Adir., 1884, p. 305. 



