Lisa Partin, age 14, of Broken Arrow, Okla., for her question:
HOW DOES A BABY PORCUPINE GET BORN?
A baby porcupine has had seven months to develop within his mother's body. He is born fully clothed and wide awake, and usually he is an only child. His bright eyes behold the spring wildflowers and the tender young greenery of his native woods, which he shares with baby birds, rabbits and busy bees. Life appears to be delightful, and in a few days the prickly youngster is ready to explore his woodsy world for himself.
The adult porcupine of North America has about 30,000 prickly spines, each one fitted with barbs that dig into his victim's flesh, long after the battle is won. Since these large members of the rodent clan are mammals, the mother porcupine gives birth to a baby. And when we learn that the young pincushion is born fully clothed with fur and prickles, our hearts go out in sympathy for the brave little mother. Surely the birth must be painful and dangerous. Not at all.
When the baby porcupine is born, his prickles are soft and flexible. His mother's den may be a hollow tree or a hole in the ground, comfortably lined with dry leaves and fibers. She weighs about 15 pounds and length is perhaps 3 feet, plus a 6 inch tail crowded with extra long prickles. Junior weighs about 1 pound and measures about 12 inches, including his tail.
The female porcupine feeds her young pincushion on mother's milk, though only for a few days. If he has to, junior is well able to climb a tree when only 2 days old. But usually he stays in his mother's den for a week or so, until his soft baby spikes become hardened.
When 10 days old, the young porcupine goes forth at dawn and sunset in search of chewable vegetables. By this time his spikes are hard and deadly sharp. What's more, the well¬developed youngster knows just how to mow down his enemies. He stays close by his mother through the summer. Porcupines do not hibernate, though junior may share his mother's den for long rest periods during the winter.
Though the porcupine is rather slow and clumsy, he is an excellent tree climber and a good swimmer. He is not a brainy fellow, perhaps because few animals dare to challenge him. When threatened, he turns his back and whacks his tail in his enemy's face. This is enough, for loose spines in his tail to stick into the flesh where they dig in deeper and still deeper.