El Residente
36 Wild Side by Ryan Piercy
The Porcupine
T
hey’re small, so cute, and well, not-quitecuddly – and they are difficult to find in Costa Rica. Called a tree porcupine, or by the much more colorful name, Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine, the local species Coendou mexicanus is smaller than its North American cousin, but equally as prickly!
The porcupine is a member of the rodent family and the species found locally grows to between 12-18 inches plus a tail of 8-14 inches. They can weigh up to six pounds and are herbivores, which feast on a diet of young leaves, fruits, seeds and buds. Their heads are light-colored with their body covered in dark hair, which somewhat obscures the short yellowish quills. Their prehensile tail facilitates easy movement among the tree branches. The animals are nocturnal and tend to
favor jungle and woodland areas, such as the many parks in the country.
Porcupines are not aggressive and their quills are purely for defensive purposes, which are only used if the creature feels threatened. The quills, totaling up to 30,000 per individual, also do not “shoot” at victims, but will become impaled if touched or if the porcupine manages to swat the threat with their tail. Of course, this is usually more of a problem for predators or curious creatures, like dogs, but you certainly want to take precaution not to get overly close to one.
The Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine is not found on the threatened list and is located throughout the Americas from Mexico down through Panama, and thus in all areas of Costa Rica. The males are quite territorial amongst each other, but not
