Cape porcupine
The Cape porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis), also called the South African porcupine, is a large rodent of sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of three porcupines found south of the Sahara, alongside the crested porcupine and Atherurus africanus.[1]
Description
The Hystrix porcupines are the largest African rodents. On the shoulders and back they have quills up to 30 cm long, and they have a short tail.[1][2] The Cape porcupine can raise its black-and-white crest of quills to look bigger. Hollow quills on the tail rattle when it is shaken.[2] It can be told from the crested porcupine by the short spines on its rump, which are pure white rather than black.[1]
Range and habitat
It is found from South Africa north to Kenya and the edges of the central African rainforest, where its range overlaps with that of the crested porcupine.[1][3] It lives in many habitats with vegetation, from savanna to miombo woodland. By day it shelters in rock crevices, caves or old aardvark burrows.[1][2]
Behaviour and breeding
Porcupines eat roots, tubers and fallen fruit, and they gnaw bones. They can damage crops.[1] In South African savannas, studies of their droppings showed that bark and other woody material made up more than 80% of their food in the dry season. Their gnawing of bark can kill trees, especially young ones.[4] A pregnancy lasts about three months, and one to four young are born.[1][2] The young are well developed at birth, with soft quills that soon harden.[2]
Status
The Cape porcupine is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers are thought to be stable.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Monadjem, Ara; Taylor, Peter J.; Denys, Christiane; Cotterill, Fenton P. D. (2015). Rodents of Sub-Saharan Africa: A Biogeographic and Taxonomic Synthesis. De Gruyter. Section: Hystricidae. ISBN 9783110389234.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 DeBruine, L. (2000). "Hystrix africaeaustralis". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. Retrieved 2 November 2026.
- ↑ Trucchi, Emiliano; Sbordoni, Valerio (2009). "Unveiling an ancient biological invasion: molecular analysis of an old European alien, the crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata)". BMC Evolutionary Biology. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-9-109. Retrieved 2 November 2026.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ↑ Kraai, U. M.; Tsvuura, Z.; Tjelele, T. J.; Mkhize, N. R.; Kraai, M. (2022). "Utilisation of Woody Plants by the Cape Porcupine in Mesic Savannas in South Africa". Zoological Studies. 61. e40. doi:10.6620/zs.2022.61-40.
- ↑ Cassola, F. (2016). "Hystrix africaeaustralis". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T10748A22232321.en. Retrieved 2 November 2026.