The Spiky Mammal: Porcupines
By Gabbie Bautista
Period 1 

Are porcupines really that dangerous?

A porcupine with its quills.

    Actually, porcupines are only dangerous to predators, so if you are a predator to porcupines watch out! Their white on black marking pattern warns predators, including color blind ones, that they are unsafe. Porcupine quills are finged with white on the end, making them stand out from the dark fur they have.This creates the white on black marking pattern. Quills are about 75 millimeters long and 2 millimeters wide. These quills have microscopic barbs on the end which helps the quills stick into the predator. Only one porcupine has 30, 000 quills! 

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