THE SOUTH AFRICAN PORCUPINE 



pine one night, and knocked off a young one which 

 was cHnging to its parent's shoulder. 



The quills of the Porcupine vary in length, those 

 on the back being longest. They are glossy and 

 ringed alternately black and white. The tail is 

 most peculiar. It consists of about a dozen hollow, 

 semi-opaque quills, which in the adult are open at 

 the end. Each of these hollow quills is attached 

 to the animal's skin by a strong, hard ligament, Hke 

 cat-gut. When shaken, the quills rattle against 

 each other. They are sounded as a signal of danger, 

 and also with the object of intimidating an enemy. 



The South African Porcupine is the sole repre- 

 sentative of its kind in this country. There are, 

 however, a large number of species inhabiting other 

 countries. Porcupines are divided into two families. 

 Those which inhabit North and South America are 

 all included in the family Erithizofitidce , These 

 are four in number : the Canadian Porcupine, and 

 three South American species, viz. the Brazilian 

 Porcupine, the Mexican Porcupine, and the Thin- 

 spined Porcupine. The three latter species are 

 true Tree Porcupines, for they possess prehensile 

 tails and live aloft in trees. The Canadian Porcu- 

 pine, although it spends most of its time among the 

 branches of trees, does not possess a prehensile tail. 



All the ground-dwelling Porcupines inhabit the 

 Old World (Europe and Asia), and are grouped in 

 the family Hy stridden. There are a considerable 

 number of species, one of which inhabits Southern 



i8s 



