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Blonde,
That is very true. When I did this post I was wondering about what I should do, and somehow I remembered porcupines that I knew when I was very young. Maybe it's just me recalling a childhood memory, but I remember porcupines as being very lovable creatures. They get discriminated against regularly, which is very sad, but they really are quite sweet creatures, that just want to go along minding their own business.
posted by
Jack_Flash
on August 5, 2006 at 3:28 AM
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Jack
They are unique creatures.
posted by
BlondeAmbition007
on August 5, 2006 at 2:51 AM
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You know Babe,
That doesn't surprise me. I think they would actually have a very good disposition for being pets. They aren't at all mean or vicious. If you doused them with a hose once in a while, they might not even stink. They probably do have scent glands, though. The Peccary that I spoke of a moment ago has a big stink gland. Stink, like quills, is pretty much a defensive tool among animals.
Now that I think about that, I think they probably are very closely related to pigs. I'll have to check into the phylogenetic classifications of both when I Google porkies.
posted by
Jack_Flash
on August 5, 2006 at 1:53 AM
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Pat,
I had forgotten about it, but I have heard that. I never laughed at it because I started wondering about the answer and missed the punch line.
They don't have quills on the belly, so maybe they use some kind of human position. That would be unnatural for a Porcupine, however. They would probably be ostracized by Porcupine Society. Maybe the female has a special clearing on the lower back. Or maybe the quills don't go that far down on any of their backs.
They have to have clear bellies. I'm sure they are mammals, and if the babies couldn't nurse there wouldn't be any Porcupines. And if they had quills on their tummies they would always be stabbing themselves in the legs.
I'll check into all of that when I research the porcupine on Google. Thanks for bringing that up. Now I have to go learn more about those little stinkers.
posted by
Jack_Flash
on August 5, 2006 at 1:38 AM
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Mademoiselle,
It could have been a combination smell, but porcupines are definitely little stinkers. I can't imagine any way that they could possibly clean themselves or one another. I fear they were Born to Stink.
I liked the Blue Jay story. I think they're smart enough to speak English, but their tongues are kind of stiff, their lips can't do stuff like P's and B's, and the roof of their mouth is too low. And I think their lungs are too small for long words.
posted by
Jack_Flash
on August 5, 2006 at 1:25 AM
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shelly,
You really should see one sometime. I don't think I have ever seen one at a zoo, but they must have them somewhere. Do a search on Google. I think I'll try that myself.
Mostly they eat tree bark. You can see all kinds of their knawing marks on trees with smooth bark. I don't think they do pine trees, but they do get oaks in smooth areas, and almost anything with smooth bark. About the only time they cause any problems is when they end up eating a ring around the tree. The inner part of the tree carries some sap circulation, but the majority of it goes through vessels that are just under the bark. If a tree loses circulation in that area, it dies. Porcupines only do that by accident, but most of them haven't studied any Botany, so they make mistakes.
They look a lot like round, fat, little pigs. There is a small, wild pig in AZ called a Peccary. They look just like a giant porcupine. Even the color is the same. The pig, of course, doesn't have quills.
And Porcupines don't ''shoot their quills.'' The quills almost fall out when they stick into something, so people think their innocent little doggie ''got shot in the nose'' because the people were afraid to get close enough to see what really happened.
posted by
Jack_Flash
on August 5, 2006 at 1:15 AM
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I knew somebody who kept porcupines for pets.
posted by
babe_rocks
on August 4, 2006 at 9:39 PM
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You've heard the old joke about how porcupines make love...
Carefully. :)
posted by
Pat_B
on August 4, 2006 at 9:39 AM
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They do seem all sweet and adorable ... until you get up close to them,
and discover that they have the worst B.O.
Or, actually, maybe that was me.
It seemed to me that, somehow, the blue jay was trying to communicate with me.
I would see him fly into the house across the way,
pick up the telephone, and dial.
My phone would ring, and it would be him,
but it was just this squawking and cheeping.
"What!? What!?" I would yell back,
but he never did speak English.
posted by
Mademoiselle
on August 4, 2006 at 7:03 AM
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Jack, LOL, it is a cute word, I must admit...LOL
Oh, and no, I've never seen one.
posted by
shelly_b
on August 4, 2006 at 4:27 AM
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shelly,
Have you seen many porcupines in real life? They really are incredibly cute. They are kind of smelly. No wonder. How could they ever get a bath?
I don't know what in the world made me think of porcupines. I was trying to think of something for Today's Thought, and for some weird reason I remembered a porcupine that I saw a long time ago, and started thinking about porcupines. I think it was the word porcupine that got me started. It has such a neat sound and spelling.
posted by
Jack_Flash
on August 4, 2006 at 4:17 AM
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Good Advice...I'll remember that next time I see a porcupine...LOL
posted by
shelly_b
on August 4, 2006 at 4:00 AM
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