Lisa Lewis, age 11, of Gallup, N.M., for her question:

CAN A PORCUPINE REALLY SHOOT OFF HIS QUILLS?

This old story has been handed around for a long time   but this does not mean that it must be true. In fact, experts tell us that the porcupine does not shoot off his quills to stab his enemies from a distance. Actually, his deadly darts are attached quite loosely to his skin. Some may come loose when he merely shakes his prickly tail.

The end of a porcupine quill may look like a very smooth, sharp point. Actually it has a number of small barbs, lying close to the surface. When jabbed into an enemy, the barbs turn backward. This anchors the quill into the soft flesh where it sticks tight. Losing a few quills is no problem to the porcupine. Though he does not shoot them from a distance, they come out easily when stuck into his enemy  and new quills grow in to replace the lost ones.