Order: Rodentia

Family: Hystricidae

 

Size: up to 90 cm in length.

Weight: up to 14.5 kg.

 

Key Features: Its hair is highly modified to form multiple layers of spines. Beneath the longer, thinner spines lies a layer of shorter and thicker ones. Each quill is brown or black in color, with alternating bands of white. Spines vary in length, with the neck and shoulder quills being the longest, measuring 15 to 30 cm. The feet and hands are broad, with long claws that are used for burrowing.

 

Breeding: Gestation for the species, on average, lasts 240 days. Brood size varies, ranging from2 to 4 offspring per year.

 

Diet: fruits, grains, and roots. They have also been known to chew on bones, in search of minerals (such as calcium) that help their spines grow.

 

Habitat: usually favor rocky hill sides, the species can also be found in tropical and temperate scrublands, grasslands, and forests.

 

Habits: When irritated or alarmed, the Indian porcupine raises its quills and rattles the hollow spines on its tail. If the disturbance continues, the species launches a backward attack and clashes its rear against the offending animal. They are nocturnal, with the species seeking shelter in caves, between rocks, or in its burrow during the day.

 

Conservation Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

 

Distribution in the GoK: reported along the coast of Gulf of Kachchh.

 

References:

Hystrix indica. In Animal Diversity Web, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. Retrieved on July 15, 2014 from http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Hystrix_indica/

 

IUCN Red List. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/10751/0

 

Photo Courtesy

Aditya Madhav , Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons