North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) on a tree branch. Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills.

---

The porcupine is the only native North American mammal with antibiotics in its skin. Those antibiotics prevent infection when a porcupine falls out of a tree and is stuck with its own quills upon hitting the ground. Porcupines fall out of trees fairly often because they are highly tempted by the tender buds and twigs at the ends of the branches. The porcupine, wolverine, and the skunk are the only North American mammals that have black and white colors because they are the only mammals that benefit from letting other animals know where and who they are in the dark of the night

---

Size: 5184px × 3456px
Location: Kingston, Ontario Canada
Photo credit: © Aubrey Huggins / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: american, animal, canada, habitat, nature, north, ontario, outdoor, photograph, porcupine, quill, rodent, rural, scene, scenic, tree, wildlife