Erethizon dorsatum, the scientific name for the Rocky Mountain Porcupine, translates to "one whose back is arched in anger". Each porcupine has between 15,000 to 30.000 quills which can be up to four inches long. The assumption that porcupines can aim and "shoot" their spikes at an enemy is wrong. If an attacker comes too close the porcupines will stop, turn its hindquarters toward the attacker. This is followed by a sudden and quickly sideways and backward attack, in which the quills are rammed into the predator. Next to the beaver, the porcupines is the largest rodent in Colorado (that is why Jack Russells want to search and destroy them!). Their preferred habitat is Ponderosa Pine, Aspen, and willow stands. They eat leaves buds and seeds and will forage on cultivated grasses and legumes. A warning sign of porcupines in the area will be damaged bark at the base of trees. Like the beaver, the porcupine's teeth continuously grow and must be trimmed frequently by chewing on bark. They are active year round, mostly at night and hide during the day. They hide in crevasses and caves, under rock outcroppings and stumps, or as some of us learned recently, under old abandoned cars.
A word of advice. Porcupines are deadly. If your dog is "quilled" seek veterinary attention immediately. The quills are very painful to extract and the dog should be sedated while doing so. Try not to let your JRT paw or bite at the quills in transport. When a quill breaks it is much more difficult to retrieve, so the old wives' tale, "quills are easier to remove if you cut off the ends" is just that, old old wives' tale. Don't be surprised to find quills in your dog months after the original episode. Finally, Jack Russells are smart dogs, but rarely do they remember what a porcupine is all about. They will smell a "vermin" and go after it every time. (Ahh, the joys of hunting in Colorado.)
