Porcupines
Subtitle: the animal answer guide
By: Uldis Roze
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Baltimore
Language: eng
Number of pages: 204
ISBN-13: 9781421407357; 9781421407364; 9781421407593
Subjects: Miscellanea; Porcupines
Description: "Could a porcupine make a good pet? Do they ever stick themselves or other porcupines with their quills? In this latest addition to the Animal Answer Guide series, we learn about these mysterious animals{u2019} 'pincushion defense,' along with the following facts: * Porcupines survive on a diet of leaves, bark, and fruit * Quills are actually modified hairs * There are 26 species of porcupines (and counting) * Old World and New World porcupines have a common ancestor but evolved independently * New World males will gather to fight ferociously over a single female Porcupines: The Animal Answer Guide presents solid, current science in the field of porcupine biology. Uldis Roze compares and contrasts porcupines in terms of body plan, behavior, ecology, reproduction, and evolutionary relationships. He examines the diversity of porcupines from around the world{u2014}from North and South America to Africa and Asia. This guide explores the interactions between humans and porcupines, including hunting, use of quills by aboriginal societies, efforts to poison porcupines, and human and pet injuries (and deaths) caused by porcupines. Roze also highlights the conservation issues that surround some porcupine species, such as the thin-spine porcupine of Brazil, which is so rare that it was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in the 1980s."--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introducing porcupines; title: Form and function in porcupines; title: Porcupine coat colors; title: Porcupine behavior; title: Porcupine ecology; title: Porcupine reproduction; title: Foods and feeding; title: Porcupines and humans; title: Porcupine problems (from a human viewpoint); title: Human problems (from a porcupine viewpoint); title: Porcupines in human culture; title: Porcupinology; title: Appendix 1: Porcupine Taxonomy; title: Appendix 2: Worldwide Wildlife Rehabilitation Organizations.