North African Crested Porcupine
Hystrix cristata is found in Italy, Sicily, and along the Mediterranean coast of Africa to northern Zaire and Tanzania. Some scientists say H. cristata was introduced into Italy by the Romans as a game animal, however fossil records indicate their presence back to the Upper Pleistocene. They are believed to have recently gone extinct in the Balkans. Hystrix are highly adaptable, found in forests, rocky areas, mountains, croplands, and sandhill deserts. They shelter in caves, rock crevices, aardvark holes, or burrows they dig themselves. Burrows are often extensive and used for many years.
North African crested porcupine
The average head and body length of the crested porcupine is 600-930 mm, with a tail length of 80-170 mm. The head, neck, shoulders, limbs and underside of body are covered with coarse, dark brown or black bristles. The animal is characterized by quills along the head, nape, and back that can be raised into a crest, in addition to sturdier quills about 350 mm long along the sides and back half of body generally used for defensive purposes. These stronger quills are generally marked with alternating light and dark bands. Hystrix is distinct among Old World porcupines due to its shorter tail and the presence of rattle quills at the end of the tail. These quills broaden at the terminal end and this section is hollow and thin walled, so a hisslike rattle is produced by their vibration. The forefoot of Hystrix has four well-developed, clawed digits (the thumb is regressed), and the hind foot has five. The soles of paws are naked and have pads, and their gait is plantigrade. Eyes and external ears are very small, with long vibrissae on the head.
Reproduction
Usually, females have only one litter per year. After a 35 day estrous cycle and 112 day gestation period, one to two well developed offspring are born in a grasslined chamber within the burrow system. At birth or shortly afterward, the young’s eyes are open and incisors are completely broken through. The body is covered with short hair, and back spines are still soft with individual sensing bristles projecting far beyond the spines. Newborn weigh only 3% of the mother’s body weight. Yet they leave the den for first time after only one week, at which time the spines begin to harden. The young begin to feed on solid food between two and three weeks, and the five white stripes found on their side start to disappear at four weeks. Hystrix cristata individuals usually reach adult weight at one to two years and are usually sexually mature just before then. Hystrix cristata females do not show aggression to familiar males, but are aggressive to unknowns.
Behavior
The social life of H. cristata is based on monogamy and long intensive care of young. Small family groups, consisting of an adult pair and various infants and juveniles, share an elaborate burrow system. To bear young, females often establish a separate den. Hystrix are terrestrial, rarely climbing trees, but are able to swim. They are also strictly nocturnal. Individuals may remain in burrows through winter but don’t truly hibernate. The quills of crested porcupines serve as an effective defense against predation. When disturbed, they raise and fan quills to create an illusion of greater size. If the disturbance continues, they stamp their feet, whirr quills and charge the enemy, back end first, attempting to stab with the thicker, shorter quills. Such attacks have been known to kill lions, leopard, hyenas, and humans.
Food Habits
Hystrix cristata is an herbivore that eats bark, roots, tubers, rhizomes, bulbs, fallen fruits and cultivated crops. They occasionally consume insects, small vertebrates and carrion. In addition, they commonly gnaw on bones for calcium and to sharpen incisors. Hystrix cristata can travel significant distances in search of food. In captivity they should be offered a complete diet of rodent lab blocks, and rat or mouse mix, with bits of fruit or veggies regularly. Cheerios or wheat bread are great treats, in small quantities. Do NOT feed chocolate, fried foods, salted foods, candy or junk food! They may enjoy crickets and mealworms if they are captive bred insects, never feed wild insects as they may carry parasites. Vitamins, like Nutri-Cal are a good addition to their diet, and added calcium during nursing and growth due to demands on their systems at those times, but take care not to overdo it. Water bottles should be used to proved constant, clean water. Ceramic or stoneware food dishes work well for keeping seeds or fresh foods off the floor, and a wire mesh hopper that allows them to eat the lab blocks through without extra waste.
