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Schnoofie

This porcupine visits my garden every night foraging for food.  Always nose to the ground smelling out anything that might be tasty. One of her favorite foods are avocado pips.She has recently taken to breaking into my seed store by gnawing the wooden door and trying to chew through thick plastic in order to get to my seeds. She must be able to smell through plastic. Needless to say, I garden in raised beds so that she cannot forage my tasty vegetables. Only 2 nights ago, she managed to climb up and bite off a large piece of my butternut plant.

When confronted she runs a small distance and stands still pretending to be a bush.

When attacked, the porcupine freezes. If cornered, it turns vicious and charges to stab its attacker with its quills. Otherwise, the porcupine may retreat into its burrow, exposing only its quills and making it hard to dislodge.

Scnoof hiding

Cape porcupines are the largest rodents in southern Africa and also the world’s largest porcupines.

Cape porcupines measure 63 to 81 centimeters (25 to 32 inches) long from the head to the base of the tail, with the tail adding a further 11–20 centimeters (4.3–7.9 inches) They weigh from 10 to 24 kilograms (22 to 53 pounds), with exceptionally large specimens weighing up to 30 kg (66 lb); males and females are not significantly different in size.