Hystrix makapanensis

The **African giant porcupine** (*Hystrix makapanensis*) is a species of Old World porcupine that originally lived in East and South Africa during the early Pliocene to the early Pleistocene and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and reintroduced to throughout the rocky hillsides, tropical and temperate shrublands, grasslands, and forests across modern East and South Africa to help boost biodiversity. The African giant porcupine is most closely related to the African crested porcupine. The African giant porcupine is about 25-35% larger than the African crested porcupine, making it the largest "natural" porcupine species that has ever existed. The African giant porcupine has a very broad and mostly herbivorous diet. It consumes a variety of natural and agricultural plant material, including roots, bulbs, fruits, grains, drupe and tubers, along with insects and small vertebrates. Because it is a cecal digesters, they are able to exploit low quality forage. It has also been known to chew on bones to acquire minerals, such as calcium, that aids in quill growth. Its capability to form substantial fat reserves is a useful adaptation for living in seasonally fluctuating habitats. African giant porcupines can act as substantial habitat modifiers when excavating for tubers. They are also considered serious agricultural pests in many parts of their range due to their taste for agricultural crops. For these reasons, they are often regarded as a nuisance. Like other Old World porcupines, the African giant porcupine is nocturnal. Both adults and weaned juveniles spend an average of 7 hours foraging every night. They tend to avoid moonlight in the winter months, which could be a strategy to evade predation. However, during summer months they do not avoid moonlight (likely because there are less dark hours during which to forage), but instead tend to stay closer to their dens. During the day, they remain in their dens, but throughout the winter, they occasionally emerge from their dens during daylight hours to bask in the sun. The African giant porcupine is semifossorial. They live in natural caves or in excavated burrows. Because they do not climb or jump well, they spend most of their lives on or under the ground. However, they are good swimmers. Natural predators of the African giant porcupine include large cats, caracals, wolves, spotted hyenas, striped hyenas, African wild dogs, Nile crocodiles and humans. When excited or scared, a porcupine stands its quills up to appear larger. It can also rattle the hollow quills at the base of its tail, stomp its feet, growl, grunt, or charge backward into the threat. African giant porcupines mate in February and March. Gestation lasts an average of 240 days. A female gives birth to one brood of two to four offspring per year. Young are born with open eyes and are covered in short, soft quills that harden within a few hours after birth. Young are fully weaned 13–19 weeks after birth, but remain in the den with parents and siblings until sexual maturity around 2 years of age. It has been reported that the African giant porcupine is usually monogamous and mates every night throughout its life, not only for reproduction, but also to maintain and strengthen the pair bond, the relationship between the male and female partners. The conservation status of the African giant porcupine is **Least Concern** due to successful conservation efforts and the African giant porcupine's wide natural range.