THE COMMON PORCUPINE 



(Hystrix cristata) 



IT is not surprising that this Porcupine has always been one of the best- 

 known of rodents, for it inhabits an anciently civilised portion of the 

 world the countries bordering the Mediterranean, both European and 

 African and its curious defensive armature of spines is calculated to 

 impress any observer in a very literal sense. It is one of the giants of 

 the rodent order, measuring about two feet six inches in length, and being 

 heavily built. The characteristic " quills " are confined to the hinder-part 

 of the body, the fore-part being covered with ordinary hair, with a crest 

 of long stiff bristles ; but the quills themselves are simply exaggerated 

 hairs, and all gradations of thickness may be found on the animal. The 

 long quills of the body are ringed with black and white ; the short ones 

 growing on the tail are themselves short, white throughout, and open at 

 their tips ; when shaken they produce a rattling sound, which is supposed 

 to be a warning to the Porcupine's enemies. For, though a slow-moving 

 creature, and not gifted, as old legends asserted, with the power of 

 darting its quills like arrows, the animal is not to be attacked with 

 impunity. When it tucks in its head and bristles up its quills, no one 

 can do anything with it, and it may even assume the offensive and 

 charge backwards on the foe. In any case, some of the quills are certain 

 to be loose, and to fly out in these warlike manoeuvres ; this fact furnishing 

 the foundation for the story of the Porcupine's exploits in archery. The 

 puncture of one of the quills is a serious matter, if it be not extracted 

 immediately, as it works more deeply into the flesh ; for this reason, 

 carnivorous animals often pay with their lives for a rash attack on a 

 Porcupine, the spines becoming fixed in their mouths and throats. 

 Nevertheless, they seem to be unable to resist the temptation, no doubt 

 hoping to catch the animal unawares ; the Leopard, at all events, is said 

 to be in the habit of killing the Porcupine by a blow on its undefended 



