This little guy, not sure how to tell for sure without getting a face full of quills, was conveniently munching out on the grasses in the rotary relatively oblivious to onlookers. Another photographer friend saw him today also. Guess he likes the sweetness of the grass there. Might be there again tomorrow.
For the most part he kept his nose to the ground munching away but occasionally looked up enabling eye contact.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
Cute, but never welcome in my yard (along with skunks)! Has Bentley ever had a run-in?
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We’ve not, to my knowledge, had one visit us and none of my dogs have been quilled. But none have ever run loose which helps. I am sure more than one beagle has learned a hard lesson.
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According to an online article, a North American porcupine “can have upwards of 30,000 quills.” I don’t imagine you’ve ever tried counting.
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I’ve never even tried counting jelly beans in a jar so a porcupine would not tempt me.
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LOL, no, You wouldn’t want to get that close!
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What’s a Rotary? A club for porcupines? A device for pulling quills? Inquiring minds want to know!
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I should have said traffic circle. I had a goal in mind so didn’t stop the first time by plus there was another car with someone photographing the porkie. I went to my spot down the road then came back to be the only one there. I hate scenes with several cars or people surrounding an animal.
A device for pulling quills from a dog’s snout would come in handy. Fortunately none of mine have had such an experience.
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I have never seen a porcupine in the wild, but I know they exist here as some neighbor’s dogs suffered a good quilling this summer. This neighbor always keeps more dogs than allowed by city ordinances, so while the porcupine lost its life (sadly it was killed and the body tossed over the fence in our alley) all six dogs had numerous quills to the face and neck, and for four days the owners did nothing. I’ve never seen the dogs so subdued (they’re a pit mix and quite aggressive) and even after the vet was consulted to remove the quills, the dogs were so miserable we didn’t hear them bark for months. I was thankful to observe the porcupine up close when I found it. I quickly went back to the house to research facts about this very interesting mammal! What a grand opportunity to photograph a live one!
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This was only my third sighting of a porcupine not dead. Others I have seen as roadkill and one as fisher kill. I prefer them living. Not the main reason we keep Bentley on a run or leash, but I’d hate for him to experience what your neighbor dogs did. Skunk spray either. It’s always sad when something innocent enough as that porcupine which was only protecting itself, pays a price for living it’s existence.
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The grass is still green, and the prickly critter is happily munching away. What will he do when old man winter comes and covers his meals with snow?
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They don’t hibernate but often build dens or nests and their main diet generally is evergreen needles so there is food throughout the winter.
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Sweet little thing. I only saw one once high up a tree.
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I’ve only photographed three living and two were in a tree. They nest in trees sometimes so not surprising.
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Lucky you, that’s wild! I don’t think I’ve ev er seen one in the wild.
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It was only the second I’ve photographed, living that is, so a treat. I would have liked a straight on shot but he kept turning away.
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