Do porcupines have any predators?

This is, no doubt, of survival value to the porcupines themselves as they do impale themselves and each other on occasion. Excellent swimmers, the air-filled quills help keep the porcupine afloat. read more

Porcupines are covered with quills that painfully stick into almost any predator that tries to attack them. For this reason, porcupines do not have to fear being eaten by very many animals. Three animals, however, has figured out how to eat porcupines. read more

One of the few animals that successfully hunts porcupines is the fisher. These ferocious little carnivores were named on accident (they don’t eat fish) and have a large appetite for porcupines. read more

The North American porcupine, also known as the Canadian porcupine or common porcupine, is a large rodent in the New World porcupine family. The beaver is the only rodent in North America that is larger than the North American porcupine. The porcupine is a caviomorph rodent whose ancestors rafted across the Atlantic from Africa to Brazil over 30 million years ago, and then migrated to North America during the Great American Interchange after the Isthmus of Panama rose 3 million years ago. read more

Scientists group porcupines into two groups: Old World porcupines, which are found in Africa, Europe and Asia; and New World porcupines, which are found in North, Central, and South America. read more

Porcupines' quills, or spines, take on various forms, depending on the species, but all are modified hairs coated with thick plates of keratin, and embedded in the skin musculature. Old World porcupines have quills embedded in clusters, whereas in New World porcupines, single quills are interspersed with bristles, underfur, and hair. read more