It’s A Girl! See the New Porcupette

The porcupette weighed just 435 grams at birth. Nearly a month later, she’s more than doubled her weight, at 903 grams on July 2. This is great news, because after birth, the baby was nursing from Quinn but still not gaining weight. The animal care team intervened, separating and supplementing the porcupette with formula by hand for two days. Shortly after, they placed the baby back near mom in the habitat, and she resumed nursing and began gaining weight on her own. They’re unsure if the porcupette wasn’t getting enough milk on her own or if it was an issue with Quinn’s milk production. Either way, the baby is now gaining weight daily and according to the care team, “definitely catching up.”

The porcupette will continue to nurse and is also nibbling on sticks and branches. It wasn’t too long before she started eating out of a dish — preferably her mom’s! The animal care team watched to see if she was curious about Quinn’s dish, and when she was, the porcupette began receiving her own, filled with fruit, veggies, greens, and more. She particularly likes sweet potato and rodent chow. Meanwhile, Quinn continues to be attentive to her baby, guiding the porcupette close when she wants to nurse.

The animal care team also reports that the porcupette has been very curious, mobile, and active since birth, climbing in the branches and easily navigating to the top of the habitat. Prehensile-tailed porcupines use their strong, spineless tails to coil around branches. Half of the weight of their tail consists of muscle!

Quinn and Seamus are a breeding pair, and the prehensile-tailed porcupine is part of an AZA Species Survival Plan® (SSP) Program at the Zoo. Like the other offspring, the porcupette will likely be transferred to another approved facility later on.

Stop by the Nocturnal side of the Small Mammals building to spot her!

Fast Facts:

• In their natural range, prehensile-tailed porcupines live in the South American forests and rainforests of Venezuela, Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Trinidad, and some extreme northern sections of Argentina.
• Arboreal animals, they spend most of their time in tree branches.
• Short, thick quills cover their body. The quills typically lay flat but will rise when the porcupine feels threatened, in order to appear larger.