What is That Creature Doing in a Tree in New York?

Who knew? I did not know this fun fact about a creature that roams throughout New York State and Pennsylvania among other areas of the northeast portion of the United States and Canada. That creature is the porcupine.

According to the SUNY ESF website,  a porcupine has up to 30,000 quills covering the upper parts of their body and tail. You've probably seen them occasionally wandering around, looking for a tree to feed on.

SUNY ESF notes about ten species of trees provide much of a porcupine winter diet. But, that's not the fun fact I'm referring to.

The fun fact is, and I'm sure some of you already know this. A porcupine can climb a tree. The Champions for Wildlife website notes that porcupines love to chew on leaf buds at the tips of branches, and will not hesitate to climb up a tree to get what it wants.

Here is a photo that a co-worker took of a tree-climbing porcupine.

And take a look at the video below from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation of a porcupine climbing a tree.

The problem is, that their weight may be too much for the branch, and down they go. And that's a common site, apparently. So what happens if the porcupine lands on its quills? Each quill is coated with antibiotics that heals the impaled skin says Champions for Wildlife.

Porcupines also feast on shrubs, crops, wildflowers, acorns, plus tree bark including hemlocks, birch, beech, aspen, elm, oak, willow, spruce, fir, and pine according to the Maine.gov website.

By the way, the Champions for Wildlife website busts a myth about a porcupine throwing quills at people or animals when threatened. There's no truth to that. For a quill to stick, a person or animal would have to come in direct contact.

So, the next time you are taking a stroll in the woods, look out for falling porcupines. That would be a big OUCH!