Indian Crested Porcupine

Indian crested porcupines are herbivores, meaning they eat plants. This includes roots, fruits, and grains.

At the Zoo, porcupines receive a variety of produce.

This species is found throughout southeast and central Asia, including parts of the Middle East.

Indian crested porcupines can live in many different habitats, including tropical and temperate scrublands, grasslands, and forests.

Crested porcupines have rough, dark, bristle-like fur covering their heads, necks, shoulders, legs, and undersides. Their bodies have several types of quills. Long quills on the head, neck, and back can stand up to make a crest. The sides and back are protected by thick, tube-shaped quills that can be up to 14 inches long and have stripes of light and dark colors. Under the longer, thinner spines is a layer of shorter, thicker spines, all different in length and color. Their tails have short, white spines and special hollow quills that make a rattling noise to scare away predators. Some of the quills are thinner, bend more easily, and are often all white.

Crested porcupines have wide front feet with four thick claws, while their back feet have five. These sturdy feet make digging easier. Their eyes and ears are tiny. Indian crested porcupines have strong, chisel-like front teeth coated with iron-rich enamel. This enamel turns the teeth bright orange and helps them last as the porcupine gnaws through tough bark and woody plants. Like other rodents, their teeth keep growing and are worn down naturally as they eat.

Indian crested porcupines are monogamous, which means they usually have only one mate each year. A pregnant female gives birth to two to four babies. The young are born with their eyes open and have short, soft quills that harden quickly. Both parents help care for the babies, who stay in the den for almost a year. Young porcupines are weaned, or stop drinking their mother’s milk, between three and five months of age. Even though they may mature earlier, some young porcupines stay with their parents until they are about two years old.

Crested porcupines communicate with each other through short, piping calls and grunts. Additionally, they use urine and scat to convey chemical messages to other porcupines.

Indian porcupines are active at night and may travel over a wide area to find food. During the day, they rest in caves, rock crevices, aardvark burrows, or burrows they dig themselves. These burrows often have several entrances and a larger inner chamber. Some burrows are used for many years and can become quite large.

When they encounter another animal that seems threatening, they raise and fan their quills, making them appear larger and more intimidating. If the danger does not leave, they stomp their feet, shake their quills to make noise, and then charge backward to try to poke the other animal with the thick, short quills on their back end.