The real touch-me-not!

Some animals bite, some run away and some, like the Indian Crested Porcupine, like to put their “back into it” and gently persuade you away from any type of petting intentions you might have.

Yep, some people do want to pet Porcupines, but most people back off when they realise that those quills are pointy and designed to hurt. Fortunately, the petting feelings are not mutual; imagine a Porcupine trying to pet people? That would be quite a thorny problem. But jokes aside, these portly creatures are one of Nature’s evolutionary triumphs and are completely unfazed by cities and farmlands encroaching on their territory. In fact, Porcupines have waddled their way all over the forests of Sri Lanka & India, the mountains of Nepal, and they have even conquered the harsh landscapes of the Middle East and quietly claimed all of this as their own!

Fun Facts

Although cartoons would have you believe otherwise, disappointingly, Porcupines cannot launch quills at their enemies. Much to the chagrin of military leaders worldwide who hoped to train elite forces of Attack Porcupines, the longer quills found on the neck and shoulder of the Porcupines did not have launch capabilities and were mostly used to scare off predators. The shorter quills on the rest of the body do cause damage, but require the Porcupine to launch itself backwards rather awkwardly towards its targets which is considered to be a rather undignified way of doing things on the battlefield. These adorable creatures can regularly be found wandering around the peaceful surroundings of the Mahoora Tented Safari Camp in Udawalawe, as well as other National Parks.

Story of the photo

This was the last encounter Kushan had at Udawalawe that day, because just after this shot was taken, word of the Sando sighting came through the grapevine; fortunately he made it to Yala in record time to capture the King, fresh from battle. The porcupine was not happy at being dumped as a photography subject.