Porcupine Housekeeping
A recent exploration of some rocky ledges, a favorite winter denning site of porcupines, revealed a virtual maze of trails leading to roughly a dozen crevices where porcupines sought shelter. A look inside these crevices confirmed that porcupines leave something to be desired when it comes to keeping house. Unlike many other animals that keep their dens pristine (e.g. beavers only defecate in water, never in their lodge), porcupines don’t feel the necessity to roust themselves when nature calls. As a result, the floor of their den consists of years of accumulated scat (and urine). In some cases, the pile of scat in these ledge dens was so high that it made you wonder how a porcupine could even fit into the crevice, and indeed, in some cases, porcupines do have to dig their way out of their den. When it became aware of my presence, the pictured porcupine assumed its characteristic defense posture, exposing its quill-filled back and upper tail surface to the intruder. It needn’t have worried, as the opening was barely wide enough to get the camera into, much less the photographer!
Wow, what an incredible photo opportunity. You must have been thrilled to find someone was home. Great post as always Mary!
February 1, 2013 at 1:28 pm
What was the nature of this crevice? Looks sort of like a culvert of quarried stone.
February 1, 2013 at 2:14 pm
I like these critters a lot, but they are really destroying our hemlocks.
February 1, 2013 at 3:01 pm
It’s easy for me to say this, when I don’t have your problem, Susan, but when I am bothered by wildlife infringing on “my” property, I often stop and ask myself who was here first…but I totally understand your frustration!
February 1, 2013 at 5:44 pm
I’ve seen porcupine dens in very large, old, hollow or partially hollow maple trees, where they clearly entered and exited from well up the trunk (10 or 12 feet). There are virtual waterfalls of scat spilling out from the upper holes, as well as down through the hollow parts of the trunk and out holes near the ground. It’s quite a remarkable amount. On the other hand, they have the least offensive smelling scat I know of. Still, digging out through their own scat seems pretty extreme.
February 1, 2013 at 3:41 pm
Hi Kellyann,
Yes, surprisingly most of the porcupine dens I’ve found have been in hollow trees (with accompanying piles of scat at the base), but I just learned that 80% of winter porcupine dens are in ledges! Hollow logs are also used. I can often detect a den with my nose before my eyes see it!
February 1, 2013 at 5:42 pm
Wow! I usually have a pretty good nose, and I cannot. Maybe there’s something in their scat my nose can’t pick up on – I’ve read that some people lack the ability to smell certain compounds in human sweat. Hmmm . . .
February 1, 2013 at 5:59 pm
Wonder if the composting scat helps keep the porcupine warm, esp in small confined spaces.
February 1, 2013 at 3:48 pm
Great question Tom, I’ll do some searching!
February 1, 2013 at 5:40 pm
I have no doubt that it does, Tom!
February 1, 2013 at 5:40 pm
What a good idea and interesting hypothesis!
February 1, 2013 at 5:58 pm
Mary, Are all your posts included in one book? Margie Smetana
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April 15, 2013 at 12:12 am
I’m afraid not. I have over two years’ worth of posts, but not sure what, if anything, else I might do with them.
April 15, 2013 at 11:58 am
Margaret — if you know of a publisher who might be interested in publishing a compilation of my posts, I’d be very interested!
April 15, 2013 at 2:25 pm