Patricia P. Porcupine 9548 Turning-TreeMontane Life Zone, CO 80121Age: 5 years old

Food: Salt and Tree Bark

Vacation Spot: Quiet Forest with an ample amount of cozy trees to sleep in.

Time of Year: Summer! (New kids to play with)

©November 18, 2010

Patricia P. Porcupine and Julia E do not approve that you may copy any part of this journal. If you do you will get a plethora of card

signings from Mrs. Jones.

Any questions? Please write to:

Mrs. Jones Grade 4 Publishing Press Class of 2009 Centennial, CO

Porcupines are also known as quill pigs, and porkies, but porcupines aren’t related to pigs at all. Porcupines own fascinating description, an amazing habitat, a really exiting family life, eats scrumptious food, and uses thrilling protection

It’s lunch time so I’m eating some

delicious tree bark along with some

berries, grass, leaves and twigs

My description is very unique. I have board feet, sharp claws, a flexible tail and I’m about the size of a house cat, that’s about twelve inches. grow three types of hair, in the fall I posses a soft under coat, this keeps us warm throughout the whole winter and in the spring our fluffy fur drops out again. My longest quills are on my plump rump, and my shortest are resting on my cheeks, although I do not have any quills on my belly. My three inch quills that are very pointy are comprised of hardened hair, and the light brown color that camouflages in trees magnificently. If I wanted to take a little swim my quills would act like a life saver! . My head is comprised with small ears and dark eyes. The six-teen wedged teeth in our heads never stop growing! Each year they grow bigger and bigger, but they wear down because I gnaw on everything 24-7. My teeth also appear with an orange color coating that protects my teeth, but I do not have an orange shade on the back of my teeth so they wear down really quickly. I make many noises such as grunts, teeth chattering, coughs, whines, hums, and gnaw. Three types of hair including guard hairs, under fur, and quills that reside on my plump, slow moving body. On top of the under fur is a layer called guard hairs, that repels snow and water. I do a funny stiff legged walk if I presume you are threatening me, I will gallop in a very weird style

My mom owns an abundant amount

of black and creamy white quills on her plump body

My diet is very fascinating. I devour an abundance of foods such as twigs, tree bark, ark, leaves, shrubs, flowers, salt, water lilies, grass, nuts, berries, cambium, and much more. Salt is my absolutely favorite food on the entire earth! I love to chew on your personal items, I adore to consume things like sweaty sneakers, tires, and handles of tools to find salt. I start my hunting at night, I usually find most of my food with my keen sense of smell. Porcupines don’t hibernate, instead they move into a cave for warm air, if they are really old they might move in to a corner of a barn. Another reason we don’t hibernate is because it isn’t hard to detect food in the winter

It’s lunch time right now to I’m devouring some scrumptious berries, bark, and

leaves.

I reside in many different habitats. I have many cousins, uncles, aunts, grandpas, and grandmas that reside in many different countries like North America, South America, Mexico, Yukon, Southern Asia, and Southern Europe. Most of my family sleep in branches right smack dab in the middle of a forest. I live in the Montane life zone too. You might think a branch is hard and uncomfortable but to a porcupine a branch is as cozy as a bed. The rest of my family sleeps in ether a massive crevice in a rock, fork in a tree, hollow log, or a cave, but in the winter everyone ventures through the harsh snow into a cozy cave

My mom’s getting comfy in our new

home! We just moved in a few days ago.

Protection is very fascinating. Porcupines have many predators such as, coyotes, foxes, fishers, lions, bobcats, and wolverines. Sometimes my quills shoot out of nowhere when I don’t mean to hurt you and they might hit you! My zany predators know my weak spots, such as my tummy. If you contemplate I can shoot quill out of my body you’re wrong! Just to take on of my quills of my diminutive body I must use my tail to rip of one quill then like you humans would throw a dart to a dart board I have to throw a quill to a enemy(they are loosely attached so it doesn’t hurt a lot when I take the quill off). The barb lies flat until it contacts with skin, if someone pulls on the quill the quill will open like an umbrella. Our quills h a black or brown color, the rest is usually a creamy white. Every single part of my body is covered in quills, but they are hardly visible because they lie flat under the long guard hairs. If you threaten me my quills will raise high to the sky just like a dogs hair would if the dogs got angry. We the porcupines scare off many of our predators because of our quill, we scare animals such as foxes, lions, cheetahs, big cats and coyotes. Sometimes I yell BULLZIE when I hit a predator right in the neck ( Bullzie means “hit in spot you wanted to,” at least I think) The predator usually doesn’t survive if I hit them in the neck because they can’t process food past the quill, and when they try to take the quill out the barb would open. A barb happens to be a shell like cover over a quill that open wider and wider the hotter you become

If you threaten me I will bend

down with my be-hind facing you,

this is the warning signal.

A porcupine’s family life’s very intriguing. My mom told me the stories of how she married my dad, Bill Porcupine, and how she gave birth to me. Let me convey you my mom’s story of how she found my dad, and most of all ME! When she took a walk in the woods looking for a mate she heard my dad make noises such as grunts, teeth chattering, coughs, whines, hums, and gnaws. My mom and dad put their paws on each other and started touching their noses. The y told me, that is how you date porcupine style. Soon enough my mom gave birth to ME! Porcupine babies are also known as porcupettes with soft quills, but after a few hours pass my quill will hardened . Next she told me about my first climbing lessons, I collapsed a few times but after a while I finally got the hang of it. I need to know how to climb because if an enemy is chasing me and I forget to poke a quill in his/her neck I need to climb a tree for protection. The very first time I came outside to play I met Paulina, my best friend. Some of the games we played is I chased her, then she chased me

Me as a porcupette with My sister and brother, Jennie and Josh

After my parents met they started hanging out

together every single day!

Porcupines usually reside on a tree branch, are as tall as a cat, can kill animals with one quill, babies are named porcupettes, and consume food like there’s no tomorrow. Porcupines are a shy and gentle animal that just wants to be left alone.

Hope you enjoyed learning about ME!

-Dingwall, Laima. Natures Children Porcupines. 2nd ed. Grolier, 1985.

-Stone, Lynn M. Porcupines Wild Animals Of The Woods. 2nd ed. Vero Beach, FL: The Rourek Press, 1995.

-Green, Jen. Natures Children Porcupines.Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier, 2008. Print.

http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/porcupine.htm

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/porcupine.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcupine

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http://www.lilytherese.com/porcupine.jpg

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http://www.thedriveinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/porcupine1.jpg

http://www.lilytherese.com/porcupine.jpg

http://www.komar.org/faq/travel/vacation/colorado/rocky-mountain-national-park/porcupine/2008_06_29_8904_porcupine.jpg