A new resident to El Refugio de Potosi is thank you Avi). At that time she was a ball of spines and strawberry colored hair. Though tiny in size, her eyes were open and she had both upper and lower teeth. After many encounters with spines (think Edward Scissor hands), she accepted water and milk by syringe and was patiently fed on a schedule of 3cc’s of fluid every 3 hours.  Now she eagerly consumes milk, water, fruits, and hibiscus flowers. Beginning May 4^th she entertained herself throughout the night, heartily ate a plate of fruit and let her keepers finally sleep.  A young / baby Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine is called a ‘pup’. The females are called ’sow’ and males ‘boar’, a porcupine group is called a ‘prickle or family’.

The Mexican Hairy Dwarf Procupine or Mexican Tree Porcupine (Coendou  mexicanus  / Sphiggurus mexicanus) is found in  Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama.  They are a nocturnal and arboreal species and as such rarely seen. The species stability is classified by IUCN as of by ‘least concern’ however there is question as to whether this is a reliable classification.  The species is listed (as Coendou mexicanus) in Mexican legislation (NOM-ECOL-059-2001) as threatened based on its rarity, its relatively small overall distribution in the country, and the high rate of destruction of tropical forests along its entire distributional range (Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, (SEMARNAT  2002). Unfortunately for the Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine, they are used as a food-source for humans; though the collection and gathering must be done carefully.

These fascinating creatures range in size from 54.6 to 81.cms in length and come with a prehensile tail that is approximately one third to two fifths of total body length. Adults weight approximately 1.5 – 3 kg, with males being heavier. Their clawed, four-toed feet on short, strong limbs allow them to be excellent climbers.  Longevity is estimated at 17 years. Their dark fur covers most of their spines which in turn are present across the porcupine’s back. The belly is without spines. The head is usually marked by yellow or pale color spines that are visible through the fur itself, and also by light pale colored fur fuzz around the ears. The long tail has almost no fur and can be curled around a branch for security.
Porcupines are very territorial and males will not tolerate other males nearby. They will allow females to remain close. The reproductive biology is poorly known, it appears that female porcupines are generally either pregnant or lactating for most of their life. Gestation is commonly around 200 days and soon after giving birth, the female mates again. Solitary offspring (or, rarely, twins) are born fully developed, with open eyes, and are able to climb trees within a few days of birth.  They are fed by the mother for two to three months, and generally reach adult size in about a year, and sexual maturity at 1.5 to 2.5 years of age
Their famous weapon, the quill, is a primarily defensive one, in which the specialized hairs are extremely sharp and detach easily. The quill, once embedded in flesh, will continue to go inward, as each quill has microscopic fibers that are pointed away from the tip toward the other end. The quills themselves can reach up to three inches in length, and make for a painful removal due to their microscopically barbed nature. A common misconception is that a porcupine can ‘fire’ a quill’; this is not true as contact must be made for the quill to stick, and there is no mechanism for flinging a quill except for a minor shaking for grooming reasons.