On a hike on the the Stone Valley Trail with my class I happened upon these pine branches scattered about in an unusual way. I learned that this was most likely due to a porcupine.The North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is a herbivore that feeds on leaves, twigs, various fruits when available, and tree bark. They often climb to the top of pines and strip them of twigs and branches while trying to get to the sugary insides of the tree. They may live a range of 5-7 years (or in some cases more), and can have a population density of 1/mile^2 to 9/mile^2, approximately.

Animal Evidence/Plant Photo

I took this photo on a class trip for Natural World. There is evidence of a porcupine feeding on a beech tree. The porcupine feeds on the the tree for the nutritious outer sap and bark. I was attracted to this photo in part because of the interesting patterns the porcupine has created on the bark of the tree. The habitat here is a a mixed hardwood forest on the Raquette River.

During a lab exercise for reflective writing, I was walking around a woodland area about 100 yards offshore from a river. I found this porcupine pelt on the ground in between trees. After showing it to Dr. Visser, it was determined that the porcupine had been killed by a fisher. Fishers eat the face of the porcupine first, and there was nothing left of this animal except for the pelt.

This tree shows signs of porcupine activity, this can be seen by how the bark of the tree has been nawed at and eaten. Porcupines are nocturnal creatures and the North Country is the perfect habitat for them to reside, as there are many trees and vegetation that are conducive to their lifestyle. Porcupines are herbivores, as seen in the picture they eat plant matter and tree bark. The Porcupines here might have eaten a large part of the bark as they did not have anything else to eat durring the long winters in the North Country.

The American porcupine referred to as the Canadian or common porcupine is the second largest rodent next too the beaver in North America. There are over two-dozen different species of Porcupines and they are mainly a nocturnal species. Porcupines have soft hair on most of their body however on their back, sides, and tail sharp quills are interspersed. The quills lie flat until a porcupine feels threated and they raise the quills. Contrary to popular belief Porcupines lack the ability to shoot their quills.

I've never seen a porcupine so close before. It was very interesting to be able to get that close up view.