New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
“Porcupette sees the vet…
This porcupette (baby porcupine) was orphaned after his mom was sadly hit by a car. Our rescue team was able to transport him back to our Cape hospital for assessment and fortunately found he did not sustain any injuries.
Our vet team determined he was bright and healthy besides having some rather large ticks attached to him. Porcupettes stay with their mom for the first 5 months of life so this young one will remain in our care for the summer until he is old enough to be independent. Porcupines are the second-largest rodent in North America after beavers.
They are most recognizable by their quills which are made of keratin and cover their entire back. Contrary to popular belief they can not shoot their quills in defense which is lucky for us as caregivers! The pointy guard hairs still protect them against predators and make general handling quite tricky or prickly so we adopt a slightly more hands-off approach to their care compared to some of our other babies.
Despite his name, this is one animal we would not like to porcupette ?” -New England Wildlife Center.
