IUCN: Least Concern

•African crested porcupines are the second largest rodent in the world, after the capybara.

•They are found in the southern half of the African continent.

•Their diet in the wild consists of mainly roots, bulbs, fruits and berries, but here at Wellington Zoo they get fed a variety of fruits and vegetables as well a bit of bread from time to time. We also give them bones and branches to gnaw on to prevent their teeth from getting too long.

•As a mostly-nocturnal animal, African crested porcupines live and breed in their burrows and dens.

•They usually live alone or in small family groups which consist of a male, female and offspring called kittens.

•When young are born, their quills are just soft hair which hardens after a few weeks.

•African tribesmen used to use porcupine quills as tools and often made weapons from them.

•It is a common myth that porcupines can shoot their quills. The quills are relatively easy to dislodge so if the porcupine is being attacked then they may run backwards or stop suddenly so the hook on the end of their quill is embedded in their predator, making the quills a great natural defence.