Porcupine Facts for Kids

21 Porcupine Facts For Kids

1. Porcupine is the common name for a group of large rodent mammals in the Hystricognathi infraorder.
2. You can identify a porcupine by its large rodent shaped body and large sharp quills covering their body.
3. There are a total of 58 living porcupine species living worldwide.
4. Porcupines have a wide range of habitats, varying by species and geographical location.
5. Some porcupine species live at sea level, while others are in mountainous regions that are up to 10,000 feet.
6. Porcupine species are separated into two different families, Erethizontidae and Hystricidae.
7. The Erethizontidae family contains all the New World porcupine species.
8. The Hystricidae family contains all the Old World porcupine species.
9. The New World porcupine species are native to North America and South America.
10. The Old World porcupine species are native to Africa, Asia and Europe.
11. Porcupines are herbivorous and eat only plant material.
12. The diet of a porcupine includes bark and wood, which is consumed using their big front teeth.
13. Porcupines are some of the largest living rodents on our planet.
14. The average body weight range for a porcupine species is between 12 and 35 pounds.
15. The average body length range for a porcupine species is between 25 and 36 inches.
16. The average tail length range for a porcupine species is between 8 and 10 inches.
17. The largest porcupine species is the crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) with a maximum weight of 60 pounds.
18. The smallest porcupine species is the Bahia hairy dwarf porcupine (Sphiggurus insidiosus) with a weight as low as 2.6 pounds.
19. Porcupines might look cute, but do not try to pick one up, those quills are sharp and can be quite painful if they pierce your skin.
20. Some porcupine species have up to 30,000 quills covering their body.
21. A common myth is porcupines can throw their quills, they cannot, and they only come out when they get stuck in something.

Porcupine Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on porcupines. Below are three pictures of various porcupines. These pictures should help you better understand what a porcupine looks like.

A picture of the north American porcupine (erethizon dorsatum).

A picture of the crested porcupine (hystrix cristata).

A picture of a mother and baby porcupine.