CPR Section House

CPR Section House

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Porcupines, Porcupine Pictures, Porcupine Facts - National Geographic

Porcupines, Porcupine Pictures, Porcupine Facts - National Geographic

When we lived at the CPR section house in Mattawa , porcupines were a common sight in the spring . Inevitably , April would bring one to sit on the pole that supported our clothesline . It made hanging up laundry on warming spring days exciting with a porcupine about four feet above our heads .

Luckily , porcupines do not...I repeat ' DO NOT ' throw their quills or we would have looked like pin cushions . After a few days , we would wake up to find the porcupine had vacated its perch during the night until next year .

A few years ago , an old Ojibwe man told me that after the winter , this prickly animal will find a high place and fast for a few days before beginning its new seasonal diet . You may have seen a few on your travels at the very tops of trees in the early spring in Canada and the United States .

Check out the National Geographic link for a wonderful photo and map in their very informative article.

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