During the spring and summer, the common porcupine eats buds, tender twigs, roots, stems, leaves, flowers, berries, nuts, and other vegetation. Reproduction Reproduction occurs in the fall or early winter. Females may be polyestrous and recycle in 25 to 30 days if fertilization does not occur at the time of ovulation. Ovulation is spontaneous and may alternate between the left and right ovaries. The female porcupine is in heat for eight to twleve hours.
Males fight for receptive females.
An elaborate courtship takes place involving extensive vocalization, a comical sort of dance, and the male showering the female with urine. The testes of male porcupines descend into scrotal pouches during late August and early September. Spermatogenesis reaches its highest level during October. After mating, the female repels the male and a copulation plug is formed. The gestation period lasts between 205 and 217 days with the young being born from April to June.