What do porcupines eat? – AZ Animals

Porcupines, which are immediately recognizable by the sharp, pointed needles covering their bodies, are among the largest rodents on Earth. Most people know what they look like, but what do porcupines eat? The vast majority of porcupine species are strict herbivores, but there are exceptions. Depending on where they live, the diet of many porcupines changes with the seasons.

What do porcupines eat?

Since most of these rodents are strict herbivores, they mainly eat things like fruits, leaves, roots, and bulbs. Their diet varies by region, species, and even season, but popular foods include tree bark, sweet potatoes, bamboo shoots, beans, nuts, skunk cabbage, twigs, and carrots. Some species can feed on carrion or dead animals, as well as insects.

How do porcupines eat?

These animals overwhelmingly eat food that they find scattered on the ground, and they also usually pluck bark, branches and leaves from the lower branches of trees. Some species may feed on dead animals they encounter; others may chase and eat insects and small animals, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

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What do porcupines eat?

Thanks to their sharp quills, porcupines do not often fall prey to other creatures. However, when present, their most common predators are as follows:

What do porcupines eat in summer compared to winter?

Most porcupine species eat food that can be found easily on the ground or on low-lying branches. Therefore, their diets usually change from season to season. In winter, for example, North American porcupines mainly feed on the inner bark of trees and evergreen needles. On the other hand, the diet of porcupines in summer can expand significantly, depending on their habitat. For example, in the summer, North American porcupines are known to eat seeds, berries, herbs, roots, stems, and leaves.

A complete list of foods that porcupines eat

As noted earlier, a porcupine’s diet is dependent on habitat, species, and season. However, when considering the total number of porcupine species found on Earth today, the following is a complete list of the foods they usually eat:

• evergreen needles
• the seeds
• nuts
• berries
• leaves
• herbs
• twigs
• roots
• stems
• tree bark
• various fruits found on earth
• tarot
• bamboo shoots
• sweet stick
• beans
• peanut
• sweet potato
• buds
• carrot
• cocoa nuts
• insects
• carrion
• animal bones

Porcupines fall into two main categories: the Old World porcupines from the Hystricidae family and the New World porcupines from the Erethizontidae family.

What do Old World porcupines eat?

Old World porcupines, robustly built, with rounded heads and flat cylindrical spines, are primarily found in Africa, Asia and southern Europe. The food that Old World porcupines typically eat differs depending on the species. Here are some examples:

• African bush-tailed porcupines is a species that has a scientific name African Aterurus, is one of the largest rodents on the planet. Primarily herbivores, these porcupines mainly eat tree bark, fruits, leaves, nodules and bulbs. Sometimes they also eat carcasses of dead animals that they stumbled upon in the wild.
• Asian bush-tailed porcupines – Asian bush-tailed porcupines, Aterurus grenadier, shorter than their African counterparts. They are also generally herbivores, mainly eating bamboo shoots, yarn, taro, fruits and vegetables. This species can also remove the horns and bones of animals. Asiatic bush-tailed porcupines also occasionally eat insects that are dug out of hiding places.
• Sumatran Porcupines – This species of Old World porcupines has a scientific name Hystrix sumatrae… Found exclusively in the tropical forests of the Sumatran Islands in Indonesia, they are also mostly herbivores. Therefore, they mainly eat fallen fruits, including mangoes and melons. They are also known to eat beans, peanuts, and sugarcane, and sometimes dig up root vegetables, most notably sweet potatoes.

What do the porcupines of the New World eat?

Large rodents with a blunt nose and rounded heads, the New World porcupines are found in the wild throughout the Americas. Long, soft hair is interspersed between their spiky spines, making them stand out from their Old World counterparts. The foods commonly eaten by different types of Old World porcupines are described below:

• North American porcupine – As its common name suggests, the North American porcupine is the scientific name Eretizone dorsal – occurs on the North American continent, mainly in shrubs and woodlands. True herbivores, North American porcupines eat clover, evergreen needles, skunk cabbage, fruits, twigs, leaves, bark and buds.
• Mexican dwarf hairy porcupine – Found in forested mountainous areas, bushes and tropical forests of Mexico, this species is the scientific name. Sphiggurus mexicanus – also considered strictly herbivorous. Mexican dwarf hairy porcupines mainly eat carrots, sweet potatoes, seeds, fruits, buds, and leaves.
• Spiny porcupine is a species that has a scientific name Chaetomys subspinosus, mainly found in forests on the Atlantic coast of Brazil. As strict herbivores, they mainly eat leaves, fruits, nuts, coconuts, and a variety of nuts.

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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

What do porcupines eat in summer?

In the summer, porcupines are known to eat things like fresh berries, herbs, leaves, roots, stems, and seeds. They can find and eat these foods on the ground or pull them from low hanging branches.

What is the natural predator of a porcupine?

Porcupines have strong natural defenses in the wild with their thorny thorns or quills. However, depending on their habitat, they can be targeted by various predators. Common porcupine predators are ocelots, cougars, mountain lions, lynxes, fishermen, coyotes, wolves, wolverines, and lynxes. In some areas, birds of prey – primarily great horned owls – can also hunt various species of porcupines.

What fruits do porcupines eat?

In summer, porcupines in many habitats are known to eat many types of berries, which they can pick from bushes and other plants or eat directly from the ground. Likewise, most of the fruits they eat are from the ground. These can be mangoes, avocados, bananas, grapes and melons. However, in winter, fruits are not available in colder climates, so they remain without them until spring and summer.