PORCUPINES 



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Porcupines. 



The typical porcupines are represented in Ethiopia by the widely- 

 spread Hystrix afrce-australis, the range of which extends from German 

 East Africa and French Congoland to the Cape. From the porcupine of southern 

 Europe and northern Africa this species differs by the much greater length of the 

 frontal bones of the skull. Inclusive of the 8-inch tail, it has a total length of 

 about 31 inches. In connection with the tail of the porcupine it may be mentioned 

 that many naturalists regard the rattle of the rattlesnake and certain structures 

 connected with the mechanical production of sound in some scorpions and giant 

 spiders as warning organs ; that is to say, the sounds they produce are intended to 

 give notice of the approach of a dangerous creature. How this arrangement works 

 in the case of carnivorous creatures like rattlesnakes, which, it might be thought, 



BRUSH-TAILED POECUPINE. 



must drive away their own prey, does not appear ; but no doubt the believers in 

 the theory have a full and satisfactory explanation of the difficulty. No such 

 difficulty arises in the case of the porcupine, whose tail has a function similar to 

 that of the snake's rattle. Unlike most nocturnal animals, porcupines, when 

 prowling about at night, make as much noise as possible by rattling their quills 

 and continually grunting. In spite of their array of spines, porcupines are easy to 

 kill on account of their thin skins, which are easily torn ; and a properly trained 

 dog, which knows where to get a safe grip, will shake one to pieces in a few 

 seconds. Hence the object of endeavouring to frighten other animals by bluster ; 

 the porcupine, in fact, playing a bold game of bluff. 



As a member of a genus common to equatorial Africa and the Malay countries, 

 special mention may be made of the African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherura 

 africana), the range of which includes West and Central Africa. 



