Porcupines are North America's second-largest rodent, with only the beaver surpassing it. They are alive and well, but most people have never seen one in the wild. They are cute, chubby, walk with a wobble, but just not very cuddly. The reason? They have quills sharper than hypodermic needles on their body, up to 30,000. These herbivores are unique in that they are one of the few northern mammals that do not hibernate or enter torpor. Instead, they den up in prickles and then manage to live off some of the least nutrient flora in the wintertime. This book will help you understand porcupines and what they eat, how they act, and why they are so good at surviving hostile winters and hot summers.

"Long and sympathetic watching, radio tracking, chemical analysis are all part of this naturalist's ingenious and peaceable arsenal of inquiry into the lives of porcupines."--Scientific American

Some of the greatest inventions that changed the modern world have been based on nature. In Porcupine Quills to Needles, readers will discover how the invention of needles were inspired by the porcupine quills. Book includes table of contents, glossary, index, author biographies, and sidebars.

This book of photography represents National Geographic's Photo Ark, a major cross-platform initiative and lifelong project by photographer Joel Sartore to make portraits of the world's animals -- especially those that are endangered. His message: to know these animals is to save them. Sartore intends to photograph every animal in captivity in the world. He is circling the globe, visiting zoos and wildlife rescue centers to create studio portraits of 12,000 species, with an emphasis on those facing extinction. He has photographed more than 6,000 already and now, thanks to a multi-year partnership with National Geographic, he may reach his goal. This book showcases his animal portraits: from tiny to mammoth, from the Florida grasshopper sparrow to the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Paired with the prose of veteran wildlife writer Douglas Chadwick, this book presents an argument for saving all the species of our planet.

When his dog Ben tangles with a porcupine, Christopher fears for his pet's safety until he thinks of a way to pacify the porcupine.

The first comprehensive treatment of North American rodents of conservation concern. This action plan summarizes the rodent fauna of North America and provides available information on every rodent taxon that has been considered to be of conservation concern by state, provincial and private conservation agencies and regional experts. It is hoped that the survey provided in this action plan will serve as a common ground for all these parties in drawing up conservation strategies for rodents.

Porcupines are prickly and often misunderstood creatures—get the facts. Could a porcupine make a good pet? Do they ever stick themselves or other porcupines with their quills? In this latest addition to the Animal Answer Guide series, we learn about these mysterious animals' "pincushion defense," along with the following facts: • Porcupines survive on a diet of leaves, bark, and fruit • Quills are actually modified hairs • There are 26 species of porcupines (and counting) • Old World and New World porcupines have a common ancestor but evolved independently • New World males will gather to fight ferociously over a single female Porcupines: The Animal Answer Guide presents solid, current science in the field of porcupine biology. Uldis Roze compares and contrasts porcupines in terms of body plan, behavior, ecology, reproduction, and evolutionary relationships. He examines the diversity of porcupines from around the world—from North and South America to Africa and Asia. This guide explores the interactions between humans and porcupines, including hunting, use of quills by aboriginal societies, efforts to poison porcupines, and human and pet injuries (and deaths) caused by porcupines. Roze also highlights the conservation issues that surround some porcupine species, such as the thin-spine porcupine of Brazil, which is so rare that it was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in the 1980s.