The African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) is a species of rat-like Old World porcupine, indigenous to a broad belt of Africa ranging from Guinea on the west coast to Kenya on the east. This is a common species with a very wide range, and despite it being used extensively for bushmeat, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".[1]
Username: Ebook Published on 2024-12-16 11:16:42 ID NUMBER: 127221
The North American Porcupine, or Canadian Porcupine, is the largest porcupine species in North America. It is distributed across various habitats and can reach three feet with tails up to a foot long.
It has around 30,000 barbed, hollow quills embedded into its skin or hair and can easily detach from the porcupine's body. Additionally, North American Porcupines feed on various vegetation, making it a nuisance to foresters. Predators like the North American golden eagles also hunt them.
One peculiar habit of the porcupine is self-anointing, which involves creating a paste and meticulously applying it to its quills. Scientists still do not know the reason behind this behavior.
The Brazilian Porcupine is a highly adaptable creature found in various habitats in South America. It sports short, thick, whitish, or yellowish spines, darker hair, and a gray underside. Its fleshy lips and nose complement its prehensile tail, which curls upward to grip tree branches.
This nocturnal animal spends most of its time high up in tree canopies, using its prehensile tail to climb quickly. Moreover, the Brazilian Porcupine raises and shakes its quills and may drive its sharp quills into their predators’ skin. These New World porcupines eat bark, leaves, and fruits, particularly mangoes and avocados.
The Bristle-spined Porcupine is an arboreal rodent from the Atlantic forests of Eastern Brazil. Its key identifying feature is the unique texture of the spines on its back, which feel more like bristles than traditional spines.
Its unique anatomy has special traits like a bony ring around the eye socket and unusually narrow incisors. This rodent exhibits a mix of cranial features seen in other rodents, creating a distinct profile.
Unfortunately, Bristle-spined Porcupines are vulnerable species. Only 17% of their natural habitat remains intact. Forest fragmentation and habitat quality decline are also contributors.
The Thin-spined Porcupine lives in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, spending its daylight hours in hollows. It is primarily nocturnal and feeds on leaves; cecropia tree foliage is a favorite. It faces various predators, including wild cats, large birds of prey, and humans who hunt it for its meat and spines.
They are primarily brown or grey, boasting bristle-like hairs rather than typical spines. However, the head, neck, and forelimbs feature less pliable spiky hairs. Their feet and tail exhibit a dark brown or black hue.
Moreover, their breeding season is not specific. Female porcupines give birth to one offspring after a gestation period of around 210 days.
The Streaked Dwarf Porcupine is a New World porcupine discovered in Ecuador and Peru in 2001. This porcupine type stands out due to its long tail, almost hairless adult body, darker quill tips, and three-colored barbed hairs. Its belly is unusually spiky and bears a unique set of skull features.
The Roosmalen's Dwarf Porcupine inhabits the southern Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Dutch botanist and ecologist Marc van Roosmalen discovered it in 2001.
Roosmalen's Dwarf Porcupine is smaller than other porcupine species, weighing only about 2 pounds as an adult. Its shorter quills are less dense and have bands of black and white. Additionally, its prehensile tails help it navigate through dense trees.
This nocturnal species spends its days in the safety of hollow trees or burrows. It ventures out at night to forage for food. Its diet consists of leaves, fruits, and bark, with a preference for certain palm fruits.
Their reproduction is slow, and they give birth only to a single offspring after a gestation period of about seven months.
The Black-tailed Hairy Dwarf Porcupine lives in the rainforests of Colombia and Venezuela. It has a black tail with dense and short quills, which it uses for defense. It has a prehensile tail and spends its days in the safety of the tree canopy.
This porcupine also feeds on leaves, fruits, and small branches and gives birth to a single offspring after carrying it for about 202 days.
The Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine is a nocturnal creature found in the rainforests of Mexico. It has a light-colored head that contrasts with its dark body. It is covered in short, yellowish quills hidden by long black fur.
Sometimes, spines peek through the fur on its back and shoulders. Its hairless head showcases the yellowish quills. It has a pink, wide, round nose and small eyes. Moreover, its spiny prehensile tail is wide at the base and narrow at the end.
These quills function as a security system; the porcupine can puff them up to transform into a spiky ball when threatened. The Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine primarily feeds on fruits, leaves, and bark and occasionally consumes small insects and roots.
The Brown Hairy Dwarf Porcupine lives in the thick forests of Colombia. It prefers to avoid the forest floor.
This porcupine has soft, long spines and a shorter tail than its relatives. The tail helps the porcupine navigate the tree branches, where it spends most of its time.
Moreover, it comes out at night to search for food, including the leaves, fruits, and small branches of the Cecropia tree.
When threatened, the porcupine fluffs up its quills to appear bigger and scarier, accompanied by whistles, grunts, and shrieks.
The Bahia Hairy Dwarf Porcupine measures about 24 inches long, not counting the tail. It also has short, dense spines hidden beneath coarse, brown hair.
It is a nocturnal animal that feeds on leaves, fruits, and bark; it forages alone for food and shelter but seeks companionship only during the mating season.
The species wards off potential threats by raising its quills and rattling when threatened. Moreover, it disperses seeds around the forest floor, contributing to the biodiversity of Brazil's lush forests.
The Stump-tailed Porcupine lives in the tropical rainforests of South America. Its short, stubby tail serves as a sensitive touch organ and a balance aid.
Moreover, it rests in tree hollows or burrows during the day and forages for food at night. It eats leaves, fruits, bark, roots, and insects and communicates with various sounds.
The Andean Porcupine lives in the forests of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It showcases a large pink nose and tiny eyes. Its body is covered in dark spines with yellowish tips distributed evenly around the midsection.
Moreover, it has a prehensile tail that narrows from a wider base. Unlike the hairy Mexican dwarf porcupine, the Andean porcupines are more spiny.
It feeds on leaves, fruits, bark, insects, and bird eggs, controlling vegetation and supporting the food chain in its ecosystem. However, the porcupine's reproductive habits and population trends are not well-known, which makes them an intriguing subject for scientists.
The Bicolor-spined Porcupine is a nocturnal mammal native to the rainforests of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. It has a dense coat of yellow-based, black-tipped spines that darken on its mid-back. Its primarily spine-free tail is fully prehensile, aiding in maneuverability.
It communicates using various sounds and primarily feeds on leaves, fruits, and bark, supplementing its diet with roots, stems, and insects.
After a gestation period of around 200 days, the female gives birth to a single offspring, which initially has soft quills that harden within a few days.
Long-tailed porcupines, indigenous to regions such as Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, resemble rats. They boast black or brown coloration, contrasting with white underbodies. Short, dark brown spines with white bases blanket their bodies, excluding their heads and underbelly.
Among their defensive mechanisms, they shed their tails when seized by predators, but these tails do not regenerate. Their broad paws enable adept tree climbing, which is useful when foraging for food.
Primarily herbivores, they consume various plant materials, including leaves, wood, roots, and bark. Occasionally, they also ingest insects and other arthropods. Notably, their role as food hoarders aids in seed dispersal.
The North African Crested Porcupine is one of the largest rodents in the world. Its black or brown body is covered with porcupine quills that can reach up to 14 inches. It prefers rocky terrain, where it spends most of the day in complex burrows.
While generally peaceful, the Crested Porcupine will fight back when it perceives an immediate threat.
The Indian Crested Porcupine is a nocturnal mammal in southern Asia and the Middle East. It has long, thin quills on its head and back, which it raises when threatened. Moreover, it can adapt well to various environments, including rocky hillsides and sandy deserts.
During the day, the Indian Crested Porcupine stays in its burrow. Then, it ventures out at night to forage. The porcupine feeds on roots, fruits, and crops. It also gathers bones to supplement its diet with essential minerals.
A study on Indian Crested Porcupine's quills reveals the development of antibacterial keratin microparticles1. These microparticles enhance pharmacological action against harmful bacteria, like Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, showing up to a 55% improvement when coated with lipids from the same quills. This groundbreaking study demonstrates potential use in clinical applications.
The Malayan Porcupine lives in the dense forests of Southeast Asia. During the day, it hides in the root networks of trees, termite mounds, or rocky crevices. At night, it emerges to feed on roots, bark, and fallen fruits.
Moreover, the Malayan Porcupine's most distinctive feature is its coat of sharp, dark quills that stand on end when it senses danger. It also occasionally preys on insects or small vertebrates.
The Cape Porcupine has black quills with white or yellowish stripes, a crucial defense mechanism. It lives in a wide range of habitats across Africa.
While primarily an herbivore, Cape Porcupines also gnaw on bones to supplement their diet with calcium. They are also good swimmers and climbers.
The Philippine porcupine, also known as the Palawan porcupine, is a distinctive creature native to the island of Palawan in the Philippines. Its habitat is commonly a blend of secondary forest and grassland, with some residing in lowland primary and secondary forests.
IUCN gave Philippine Porcupines vulnerable status2. Over the coming 22 years, its population is projected to decrease by more than 30%. Forest loss and its rampant use in pet and bushmeat trade are significant factors accelerating this decline.
The African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) is a species of rat-like Old World porcupine, indigenous to a broad belt of Africa ranging from Guinea on the west coast to Kenya on the east. This is a common species with a very wide range, and despite it being used extensively for bushmeat, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".[1]
The African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) is a species of rat-like Old World porcupine, indigenous to a broad belt of Africa ranging from Guinea on the west coast to Kenya on the east. This is a common species with a very wide range, and despite it being used extensively for bushmeat, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".[1]
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area.[9] With nearly 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents;[10][11] the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4.[12] Based on 2024 projections, Africa's population will reach 3.8 billion people by 2099.[13] Africa is the least wealthy inhabited continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate,[14] corruption,[14] colonialism, the Cold War,[15][16] and neocolonialism. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and a large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context. Africa has a large quantity of natural resources and food resources, including diamonds, sugar, salt, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum, natural gas, cocoa beans, and tropical fruit.
Africa
# Country Population
(2024) Land Area
(Km²) Density
(P/Km²)
1 Nigeria 232,679,478 910,770 255
2 Ethiopia 132,059,767 1,000,000 132
3 Egypt 116,538,258 995,450 1174 Democratic Republic of the Congo 109,276,265 2,267,050 48
5 Tanzania 68,560,157 885,800 77
6 South Africa 64,007,187 1,213,090 53
7 Kenya 56,432,944 569,140 99
8 Sudan 50,448,963 1,765,048 29
9 Uganda 50,015,092 199,810 250
10 Algeria 46,814,308 2,381,740 20
11 Morocco 38,081,173 446,300 85
12 Angola 37,885,849 1,246,700 30
13 Mozambique 34,631,766 786,380 44
14 Ghana 34,427,414 227,540 151
15 Madagascar 31,964,956 581,795 55
16 Côte d'Ivoire 31,934,230 318,000 100
17 Cameroon 29,123,744 472,710 62
18 Niger 27,032,412 1,266,700 21
19 Mali 24,478,595 1,220,190 20
20 Burkina Faso 23,548,781 273,600 86
21 Malawi 21,655,286 94,280 230
22 Zambia 21,314,956 743,390 29
23 Chad 20,299,123 1,259,200 16
24 Somalia 19,009,151 627,340 30
25 Senegal 18,501,984 192,530 96
26 Zimbabwe 16,634,373 386,850 43
27 Guinea 14,754,785 245,720 60
28 Benin 14,462,724 112,760 128
29 Rwanda 14,256,567 24,670 578
30 Burundi 14,047,786 25,680 547
31 Tunisia 12,277,109 155,360 79
32 South Sudan 11,943,408 610,952 20
33 Togo 9,515,236 54,390 175
34 Sierra Leone 8,642,022 72,180 120
35 Libya 7,381,023 1,759,540 4
36 Congo 6,332,961 341,500 19
37 Liberia 5,612,817 96,320 58
38 Central African Republic 5,330,690 622,980 9
39 Mauritania 5,169,395 1,030,700 5
40 Eritrea 3,535,603 101,000 35
41 Namibia 3,030,131 823,290 4
42 Gambia 2,759,988 10,120 273
43 Gabon 2,538,952 257,670 10
44 Botswana 2,521,139 566,730 4
45 Lesotho 2,337,423 30,360 77
46 Guinea-Bissau 2,201,352 28,120 78
47 Equatorial Guinea 1,892,516 28,050 67
48 Mauritius 1,271,169 2,030 626
49 Eswatini 1,242,822 17,200 72
50 Djibouti 1,168,722 23,180 50
51 Réunion 878,591 2,500 351
52 Comoros 866,628 1,861 466
53 Western Sahara 590,506 266,000 2
54 Cabo Verde 524,877 4,030 130
55 Mayotte 326,505 375 871
56 Sao Tome and Principe 235,536 960 245
57 Seychelles 130,418 460 284
58 Saint Helena 5,237 390 13
African forest elephants roam the dense rainforests of West and Central Africa where they subsist largely on a diet of fruit. They shape forests by dispersing fruit and seeds, browsing, and creating an extensive trail network.
These tall and stately plants make beautiful borders along fences, at the back of perennial beds to set off other flowers, and as a large patch all on their own. African marigolds (Tagetes erecta) are good for cutting for arrangements with long, sturdy stems and good vase life. They are relatively low-maintenance summer flowers and thrive in hot, dry conditions. Here are a few of the prettiest varieties of African marigolds to try:
The African Striped Weasel is a small and brave creature found across the savannas and forests of Africa. They have a striking striped coat that helps them blend into the background and avoid predators. These nocturnal animals eat small rodents, birds, insects, and fruit.
During mating season, the females give birth to 2-3 blind and helpless babies. These little ones grow up quickly and show the same resilience as their parents.
The African Rock Python is a large snake species native to sub-Saharan Africa, thriving in savannas, rainforests, and marshlands.
They are known for their impressive size; on average, they can stretch up to 11 feet. However, some specimens reached almost 20 feet. Their skin features dark brown blotches on a light brown or olive backdrop, which helps them blend into their surroundings.
African Rock Pythons prey on rodents, monkeys, antelopes, and crocodiles. Their hunting technique involves constricting their prey.
The North African Crested Porcupine is one of the largest rodents in the world. Its black or brown body is covered with porcupine quills that can reach up to 14 inches. It prefers rocky terrain, where it spends most of the day in complex burrows.
While generally peaceful, the Crested Porcupine will fight back when it perceives an immediate threat.
The Cape Porcupine has black quills with white or yellowish stripes, a crucial defense mechanism. It lives in a wide range of habitats across Africa.
While primarily an herbivore, Cape Porcupines also gnaw on bones to supplement their diet with calcium. They are also good swimmers and climbers.
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