Baby porcupine lives with its family alongside several new species in the newly renovated Children’s Zoo at WCS’s Bronx Zoo

Photo Slideshow: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lv5h07t99lug0y7/AACv0JW-33gWG7pFHS_5qDjaa?dl=0

WCS Newsroom: http://newsroom.wcs.org/

@WCSNewsroom: https://twitter.com/WCSNewsroom

Bronx, NY – Aug. 26, 2015 – Attached photos: A baby North American porcupine was born at WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) Bronx Zoo and is on exhibit with its family in the newly renovated Children’s Zoo.

The young male porcupine was born on July 28 to mother, Alice, and father, Patrick.  This is the pair’s third offspring.

The porcupine’s most recognizable physical characteristic is its spiky quills. They can have as many as 30,000 quills covering their bodies and use them as a defense against predators. Despite popular belief, porcupines cannot shoot their quills. The quills of the North American porcupine have a tiny barb on the tip that, when hooked in flesh, pull the quill from the porcupine’s skin and painfully imbed it in a predator’s face, paws or body.

At birth, the quills are very soft. They begin to harden a few hours after birth and continue to harden and grow as the baby matures.

 

Young porcupines begin eating solid food as early as three weeks old, but will continue to nurse for about three months.

 

For more information or to speak with a WCS expert, contact Max Pulsinelli at 718-220-5182 or mpulsinelli@wcs.org.

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, 5:30 p.m. weekends from April to October; 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m November to March. Adult admission is $19.95, children (3-12 years old) $12.95, children under 3 are free, seniors (65+) are $17.95. Parking is $15 for cars and $18 for buses. The Bronx Zoo is conveniently located off the Bronx River Parkway at Exit 6; by train via the #2 or #5 or by bus via the #9, #12, #19, #22, MetroNorth, or BxM11 Express Bus service (from Manhattan that stops just outside the gate.) To plan your trip, visit bronxzoo.com or call 718-367-1010.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; http://www.facebook.com/TheWCS; http://www.youtube.com/user/WCSMedia  Follow: @thewcs.  

CONTACT:    

Max Pulsinelli - 718-220-5182; mpulsinelli@wcs.org

Steve Fairchild – 718-220-5189; sfairchild@wcs.org

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