It usually weighs 8-15 pounds. Large males have been known to weigh as much as 40 pounds. The North American porcupine does not see well. But it can hear and smell very well. It moves slowly, but it carries an arsenal of quills for protection.
Porcupines live alone.
The female and male porcupines only stay together long enough to mate. A single offspring is born about 7 months later. Porcupines are good swimmers because their quills have air inside them. This makes the porcupine's quills act like a life jacket, keeping him afloat. It takes 4 years for a North American porcupine to be fully gown.