Animals in nature have the ability to attack or save their lives, such as dead leaf butterflies can use mimesis to escape predators, and lions can use sharp claws and teeth to hunt prey. Of course, there are also some animals, not only do not have the ability to actively attack, but even do not camouflage, then they rely on "special tools". For example, a porcupine covered in spikes.
<h1>One of the most defensive animals - the porcupine</h1>
I believe that many small partners have been shocked by the "ten thousand arrows in the film and television works", indeed, the invention of the ancient bow and arrow has created a precedent for long-range strikes within range. The bow and arrow array is a terrifying presence, both during siege and defense. Moreover, in defense, "ten thousand arrows" can also quickly disrupt the attack formation of the place, which can be described as a sharp weapon for attack and defense.
So what animals can you think of when you think of "arrows"? Yes, the first thing that many friends think of should be a hedgehog. Hedgehogs belong to the hedgehog family, they have neither a large size nor sharp claws and teeth, and their main diet is small insects. However, it is this seemingly small animal that gives most carnivores a headache because of its spiky spines that never fall off. When a hedgehog encounters danger, it curls up its body and wraps its soft body with a spine on its entire back to avoid predators.
In addition to the hedgehog, there is another animal, its back is also covered with spikes, and its spikes are dozens of times longer than the hedgehog's spikes, it is a porcupine.
hedgehog
Classification of porcupines
Although porcupines do resemble hedgehogs in appearance, they are two very different species. From the biological classification point of view, porcupine belongs to the rodent porcupine family. Under the porcupine family, it is divided into 3 different genera and 11 different porcupines, which are:
There are 2 subspecies under the genus Atherurus: Atherurus africanus and Atherurus macrourus
There is only one subspecies under the genus Trichys: the long-tailed porcupine (Trichys fasciculata)
There are 8 subspecies under hystrix: Hystrix africaeaustralis, Hystrix cristata, Malayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura), Hystrix crassispinis, Hystrix indicus, Anda porcupina (Hystrix javanica) , Palawan porcupine (Hystrix pumila), Sumatran porcupine (Hystrix sumatrae)
Among the above 11 species of porcupines, except for the long-tailed porcupine, most of the other porcupines are very close in appearance. The long-tailed porcupine is the smallest of all porcupines, with an average adult long-tailed porcupine of about 35 cm and an average weight of about 15 kg. Due to its small size, its thorns are relatively short and only exist from the back to the tail.
Most of the other porcupines are about 80 centimeters long and weigh an average of about 30 kilograms, and most of the porcupines have thorns on their backs that account for about 60% of the entire back. The difference is that most of the porcupines under the broom-tailed porcupine genus have thorns growing towards the tail, and in normal times, their thorns will naturally stick backwards to the body, and the tail ends of their thorns are mostly white, and the thorns are relatively thick and hollow. The thorns of the animals in the porcupine genus are mostly solid and pointed, and they look like steel thorns. The color of the thorns is predominantly brown.
Long-tailed porcupine
Broom-tailed porcupine
The African crowned porcupine under the genus Porcupine
Personality as well as habitat characteristics
Porcupines are mostly docile, but when faced with predators or feeling threatened, they will erect thorns on their bodies to expand their size and scare off enemies. Porcupines prefer to live in groups, but this grouping is limited to themselves and their spouses and their own cubs.
Usually, porcupines will live with their cubs until the cubs are sexually mature, and the cubs will leave their parents.
There are many species of porcupines and they are widely distributed. They are mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical forests and plains in Asia, Africa and Europe. Most of them feed on plant foods, such as leaves, seeds, fruits, etc., and occasionally they also prey on insects, so strictly speaking, porcupines are omnivorous and vegetarian.
<h1>Porcupine defense</h1>
As an omnivorous, vegetarian animal, the porcupine has no sharp teeth (only incisors like most rodents) and no ability to hunt. However, it has a very strong defensive ability. Let's first use a set of pictures to feel the defense ability of the porcupine, that is, the power of the porcupine spikes.
Leopards that prey on porcupines are "pierced through the heart with ten thousand arrows"
The lions also have nothing to do with the porcupine
The lion was accidentally stabbed all over his face with spikes
From the above group picture, we can see that even the ferocious felines lion and leopard have no way to take this little porcupine. This is the strongest defense of the porcupine. In the face of danger, the porcupine will stand upright with its thorns to protect itself firmly. As soon as an animal tried to break through the defense, it was stabbed by a thorn nearly 10 cm long. The point is that the spikes of the porcupine are all barbed, and once stabbed, trying to pull them out requires several times more pain than sticking into them.
Many people say that when the porcupine faces danger, it will take the initiative to fire thorns on its body to achieve the purpose of stabbing the opponent. In fact, this is a rumor.
<h1>The role of porcupine thorns</h1>
In fact, the thorns of porcupines are no different from the hair of most animals. After scientific research, it was found that the thorns of porcupines contained a large amount of keratin, which is very close to the composition of the hair of other animals. It's just that the porcupine's thorns have been strengthened.
And the porcupine's spines do not have the ability to fire. The porcupine's control over its thorns was limited to making it upright and falling. Usually during mating, in order not to hurt his companions, the porcupine will put down all his thorns, obediently close to the surface of the body, and then lift the hind limbs as much as possible. Moreover, the thorns of the porcupine fall off very easily, and even a few of them will fall through the following bushes of thorns. In fact, this is the same as other animal hair retreat, in the porcupine thorn root is a hair follicle, when the porcupine thorn off, the hair follicle will give birth to new thorns to replace.
And those animals that are stabbed by porcupines are desperate consequences, they always think that such a small animal can be solved in one bite, but they despise the power of these thorns.
For porcupines, mating is a technical job
<h1>summary</h1>
The thorns of the porcupine are actually its hair, and the reason why it becomes very sharp is that the porcupine is a means of self-preservation in the long evolution of the porcupine. And the porcupine thorn can not be self-controlled firing, it will only be in the animal's body when hunting itself, first into the animal's body.