What does the porcupine eat?

As we have mentioned, there are porcupines both in the New Continent and in the Old Continent, so they are animals that inhabit America, Europe, Africa and Asia. In this sense, the types of habitats vary depending on the region where the species develops, so the diet is related to the availability in the respective ecosystem.

In this sense, specifically the kind of porcupine diet varies by speciessince there are porcupines that are strictly herbivorous animals, which feed on a variety of plants, while others are omnivorous animals.

In this way, the porcupine is an animal that mainly consumes different parts of plants, such as stems, roots, leaves and fruits, in the case of the former, and for the latter, it can also consume some animals such as insects, small invertebrates and carrion. .

Porcupines are mammalian animals, so when they are born they feed on the milk provided by his mother. Depending on the species, some baby porcupines nurse for only two to three weeks, while others may consume their mother’s milk for up to two to four months, when they become independent.

after two weeksapproximately, already can start eating solid food. They are generally offered by the mothers, since males commonly do not have parental care for the young. In the case of arboreal species, initially the young cannot climb, so the mother climbs to feed, leaving the young hidden in the ground. During this time she will only feed on milk, until she can follow the female and feed in the trees with her.

One of the differences between the two families of porcupines is that American porcupines have the ability to climb trees, so they often get their food when they are on plants. On the other hand, Old World porcupines are strictly terrestrial, so they obtain food and consume it at ground level.

Here are some particular examples of what the adult porcupine eats:

Indonesian porcupine (Hystrix pumila)

The adult Indonesian porcupine feeds mainly on:

• Estate.
• tubers.
• Fruits: such as coconuts, berries, among others.
• bulbs.
• Small invertebrate animals.
• insects.
• Carrion.
• Bones.

North African crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata)

As for what a North African crested porcupine eats, we can highlight the following foods in its diet:

• Rinds.
• tubers.
• Estate.
• rhizomes.
• bulbs.
• fallen fruits.
• Crops.
• insects.
• Small vertebrate animals.
• Carrion.

African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus)

If we focus on the African brush-tailed porcupine, we see that it feeds on:

• Cortex.
• Estate.
• Leaves.
• bulbs.
• fruits.
• Carrion.

Asian brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus macrourus)

The adult Asian brush-tailed porcupine feeds mainly on:

• Cortex.
• Estate.
• tubers.
• Leaves.
• fruits.
• Crops.
• insects.
• Carrion.

Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica)

If we focus on the adult Indian crested porcupine, we realize that their diet is based on eating:

• Fruit.
• Grains or seeds.
• Estate.
• Leaves.
• Bones.

Brazilian porcupine (Coendou prehensilis)

On the other hand, the adult Brazilian porcupine usually feeds on:

• Cortex.
• buds.
• fruits.
• Estate.
• stems.
• Leaves.
• Fruit.
• Unripe seeds.
• Corn and plantain crops.

North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)

As for what a North American porcupine eats, we can highlight the following foods in its diet:

• Ponderosa pine phloem and other plants.
• Cortex.
• Leaves.
• Sugar maple blossoms.
• Acorns.
• Walnuts.
• raspberries.
• pastures.
• Flowers.
• apples.
• Lick places where salt accumulates.

Mexican dwarf hairy porcupine (Sphiggurus mexicanus)

On the other hand, the adult Mexican dwarf hairy porcupine simply feeds on:

Slender-spined porcupine (Chaetomys subspinosus)

Finally, the slender-spined porcupine bases its diet on:

There are no exact reports about the amount of food a porcupine consumes. However, for example, it is known that these rodents are very underweight at birth, so initially they must be fed several times a day with mother’s milk to gain weight and be ready for when they become independent.

On the other hand, in the case of certain herbivorous porcupines, their diet and the amount of food varies throughout the year, depending on the season, since this on the one hand influences the chemistry of the plants and their availability. Thus, it is known that in species that inhabit North America, consumption rates change with the seasons.

In this way, in spring and summer, when there is greater availability of protein-rich foods, feeding rates increase, while in autumn the animal’s food consumption decreases, which surely prepares it for winter, when it decreases from weight due to lack of food.

Another interesting aspect is that porcupines, being rodents, their teeth are constantly growing, so they are frequently gnawing on some material to file the teeth. In the case of omnivores they do it with the bones of other animals, in herbivores they do it in tree trunks.

Find out how the porcupine attacks and defends itself in the following AnimalWised article.

If you want to read more articles similar to What does the porcupine eat?we recommend that you enter our section on balanced diets.