African Crested Porcupine / Hystrix cristata

I took this photo at the Calgary Zoo on 29 September 2015. That day, my alarm clock was set for 6:30 am so that I could go on a birding walk with friends. Unfortunately, I didn't read the e-mail carefully enough, so hadn't seen that the meeting place was not where I thought. Of course, no one else showed up where I was, so I took myself off to the Calgary Zoo instead. I had planned on going there after the walk, anyway.

"The crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) is a species of rodent in the Hystricidae family. It is extant in mainland Italy, Sicily, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.

The crested porcupine is a terrestrial mammal; they very seldom climb trees, but can swim. They are nocturnal and monogamous. The crested porcupine takes care of the young for a long time and small family groups consist of the adult pair and young of various ages. In defense, when disturbed, they raise and fan their quills to make themselves look bigger. If continually bothered, the crested porcupine will stamp its feet, whirr the quills, and charge the disturber back end first trying to stab the enemy with the thicker, shorter quills. These attacks are known to have killed lions, leopards, hyenas, and even humans." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_porcupine

www.arkive.org/north-african-crested-porcupine/hystrix-cr...