Porcupines are vegetarian, they have long chisel-like incisors which help them to gnaw effectively. They feed on roots, bulbs, fallen fruit, and some plants which are poisonous to cattle. They will feed on crops like maize, which can make them pests. They also gnaw on bones for calcium.

One to three babies are born after a gestation period of 112 days. They are born precocial – fully furred, eyes open and with the beginning of quills. Females produce one litter every summer. Sexual maturity is reached at two years old. In captivity porcupines can live up to 21 years old.

The quills can be up to 20 inches long, each quill has several thousand microscopic barbs. The quills are normally held flat against the body and when danger threatens, the porcupines erect their quills on their back, together with the crest of hair on the head and neck. They will then make a series of warnings. The quills are hollow in the tail and are rattled, followed by a series of growls and grunts, they also stamp their feet. Only if all this fails to deter the attacker will they then attack.

When attacking they will charge backwards to impale with the spikes. The quills do detach easily, giving rise to the myth that they ‘fire’ the quills which is completely untrue. Even lions are usually no match, these and other large predators can not get past the battery of needle-sharp spikes.

Porcupines are killed for many reasons: they are reported as crop destroyers, their flesh is enjoyed by tribal people and killing them has become a national past time. Despite this they are common over much of their range thanks to the near absence of their natural predators, lions, leopards and hyenas.

In Europe, where it was introduced by the Romans, it is listed as rare and is the forth rarest rodent in Europe. In Egypt it is on the brink of extinction. The porcupine faces an uncertain future.