PORCUPINE FAMILY 



219 



head under a log or root, if one happens to be 

 handy ; otherwise it puts its nose between its 

 forepaws. Then if approached closely, or poked 

 with a stick, it waves its tail defiantly. Woe be- 

 tide the animal which is rash enough to get in the 

 way of that tail. Wherever it strikes flesh the 

 quills penetrate, stick, and cause great pain. More 

 pain will come later when an attempt is made 

 to pull the quills out. The point is very sharp, 

 and below it are hundreds of little barbs pointing 

 backward. This means that they must often be 

 cut out of the flesh or the points broken ofl^ in it. 



lieved to be the only enemy that has solved the 

 problem of safe attacks. It kills the Porcupine 

 by qviickly turning it over, and slitting its ab- 

 domen. 



Since the Porcupine does not have to depend 

 upon flight, alertness, subterfuge or fight to 

 escape its enemies, but only upon a protective 

 covering, its mental qualities are not high. In- 

 deed it is one of the dullest animals. Use is the 

 mother of progressive development, and disuse 

 leads to degeneration. This law is well illustrated 

 also in the turtle, armadillo and echidna. 



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YELLOW-HAIRED PORCUPINE 



This western type has a wide range, having been found above the timber-line on some Colorado 



mountains 



In the latter case these points often " work 

 through " the part injured. The quills separate 

 easily from the skin of their owner, but he 

 cannot throzv them at an enemy as was formerly 

 stated. 



Panthers, lynx, bears, foxes, wolves, and 

 other flesh-eaters fall victims in their attempts 

 to make a meal of this armored rodent. The 

 mouth and throat of these victims become so 

 sore and swollen from the quills that the animal 

 cannot eat, and soon perishes. The Fisher is be- 



Mating in the northeastern United States 

 takes place in the autumn, and the young are 

 born about the first of May. Merriam states 

 that they are actually larger, and relatively thirty 

 times larger, than the young of the Black Bear. 

 From one to four is the number in a litter. By 

 autumn they are able to shift for themselves. 



The YeUozv-haired, or Western, Porcupine is 

 so much like the eastern one in general appear- 

 ance that a casual observer would not see any 

 difference. He has the same spiny covering, the 



