Prehensile-tailed Porcupine
Scientific name: Coendo prehensilis
Habitat: tropical rainforests, deciduous forests
Diet: leaves, flowers, shoots, roots
Life span: 10-12 years
Young: 1 young
Size: 4-6 kg (9-13 lbs)
Prehensile-tailed porcupines are nocturnal animals, using the long whiskers on their face and feet to guide their way through the tree branches.
They are well adapted to living in the treetops. The strong, quill-less tail is used to grasp and anchor the animal to the branch. The large bare soled feet aid in climbing.
Newborn prehensile-tailed porcupines have red hair and soft spines that harden soon after birth into stiff quills.
Learn more about this species:
These are some other websites that we think have more great information about this species.
Prehensile-tailed porcupine on Wikipedia
For More Information
Edmonton Valley Zoo
13315 Buena Vista Road (87th Avenue)
PO Box 2359
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2R7
| attractions@edmonton.ca |
Range
Range: Central and South America
Status in the Wild
Status: thriving
