Rodent Spotlight: Porcupine

Most everyone knows what a porcupine is, but you'd be surprised how little this creature is seen in fiction. Often times, it is cast as an extra or as a creature of hazard that someone happens to step on when he wasn't paying attention. Seems a shame really, but I plan on expounding on why the porcupine deserves some respect.

Here is a rodent that comes with one of natures most brilliant and even quite noticeable defensive features: a bounty of sharp spines--called quills--upon their backs. These quills are actually hairs forming on their backs which are modified with thick plates made of a substance called keratin. They are quite sharp on their tips, and if a person happens to step on these creatures, these quills will stab into the skin and be released from the porcupine so the rodent can go on his merry way. Of course, the victim will be left flat on his back and wishing he had paid more attention to where he was going.

As I said already, fiction has not done very much with porcupines as main characters, but one did stand out to me. His name was Porky Pine from the old newspaper comic strip "Pogo." Porky was the story's cynic. He was always glum and never ever smiled except for one isolated incident--and in this case, the lights were turned off. Despite his outward demeanor, Porky Pine still possessed a heart of gold and truly cared for his friends. In many ways, he was akin to Eeyore from "Winney the Pooh."

You know, when I was growing up, I had a big, thick book of amazing facts that I loved to look through. They told me a lot of amazing things that I marveled about, but the odd thing is that when I grew up, I found out that many of those "facts" simply were not true. Case in point: this book claimed that lemmings really did go on a suicidal march--this fallacy being disproved in one of my former blogs. Another thing this book told me was that porcupines could throw their quills at enemies in defense. This was also false, but it still gave me an idea.

When you think of fiction and fantasy and then consider a character with long pointy things on his back, what do you think of? I am hoping you thought of an archer, but if it was something different, don't worry--it's probably just as good. In my mind, I can actually see a porcupine being an archer, and he could actually use his own quills as the arrows. All he needs is a bow! Apparently those quills do keep growing back, so he would never be short on projectiles. You might actually see how this character would be rather cool in an animal universe.

Perhaps a bit underused, the porcupine has just as much "cool-factor" as any other rodent. They are stoic, little things who aren't too worried about all the dangers this world has to offer. After all, anyone who might want to eat them, has to content with what's on their back. If these predators are not wise, they may end up in a prickly situation, but I am sure after one or two encounters, they will eventually get the point.

Thank you for reading my blog. If you enjoyed it, you can leave a comment below, or you can email me at tooie@tooiekangaroo.com. Till next time!