Naturenibble

7 Animals Similar to Lemurs

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Here’s a fun fact – did you know that science considers Lemurs to be your distant cousin? Well, you may never find the resemblance when you look at one, or you may simply deny your ancestral relationship to a ring-tailed lemur. But the truth is that lemurs come from the same family as gorillas, monkeys, apes, chimps, etc.

In other words, they are one of the members of the primate species of mammals. In this wildlife guide, we will walk you through the life of the big-eyed, nocturnal mammal and present the seven most common animals similar to lemurs to you. Let this wildlife safari begin!

Life of Lemurs

Well, to tell you the truth, we cannot help but start this section by stating that there’s an abundance of monkey-like traits in a lemur. But let’s learn all about this particular kind of primate before we start to compare it with similar animals. They are unique.

Not just because of their appearance, but for their activities too. They belong to a separate branch of the endangered primate family tree – prosimians. One of their distinctive physical appearances includes having a tooth comb, which is a reformed incisor tooth on their lower jaw.

They also have a super-long grooming claw, which is a special claw on their second toe used for personal grooming. Lemurs have fantastic night vision, almost considered to be their superpower. This is because of the Tapetum Lucidum – the additional layer behind the retina of their eyes.

This is known to enhance their night vision significantly. Speaking of superpowers, they also have a strong sense of smell. This helps them forage and communicate.

But, do they like to move it, move it? The answer is yes! Similar to most primates, lemurs are arboreals – meaning they like to only live in trees. They spend their days springing from one branch to another with their mighty legs.

Sifakas, for example, are extremely skilled at jumping long distances over 30 feet, that too in one jump. Impressively flexible and strong, right? This brings us to the list of … Read the rest of the story.

Top 15 Animals Similar to a Hamster

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Although most of us have seen them in cages, Hamsters live in warm and dry grasslands or sand dunes in the wild. These rodents can weigh anything from 0.8 to 16 oz. Their lengths can range anywhere from 2 to 6 inches.

Hamsters live for 2-6 years, depending on the size of the breed. They chew to keep their teeth small and also tend to hoard food in their cheeks. This nocturnal mammal tends to hide when they feel scared.

As pets, they crave and thrive on human affection. What other animals are similar to a hamster? Let’s talk about the top fifteen similar mammals.

1. Guinea Pig

The guinea pig is yet another small rodent that people raise as pets. Although they look similar, guinea pigs are much larger than hamsters. This rodent is about 8 to 16 inches long and weighs around 15 to 47 oz.

The breed of guinea pig that humans domesticated don’t live in the wild any longer. However, a close wild cousin bearing the same name lives in the South American mountains. As pets, they need a much larger habitat than hamsters do.

They are not nocturnal like hamsters and tend to stay awake during the day and sleep at night. Guinea pigs also can’t run on hamster wheels, and attempting to make them do so can put them in danger. They do come in similar colors that can range from white and beige to saffron and black.

A guinea pig’s diet includes grass, hay, small quantities of vegetables, and occasional fruits. Fibrous hay and grass help them keep their teeth small. On a good diet, a guinea pig can live for 4 to 8 years.

2. Vole

Like hamsters, Voles fall in the Cricetidae family. They look like a cross between hamsters and field mice. They have pointed faces, small yet round heavy bodies, and short tails.

They have prominent teeth that they use to gnaw on plant roots and stems. Voles are around 5-8 inches long and 0.6 to 3.2 oz. These mammals can live in a variety of habitats, from mountainous … Read the rest of the story.

Are Honey Badgers and Wolverines Related?

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Yes, the honey badger and the wolverine are related because they are fierce mammals that belong to the weasel family, Mustelidae, from the order Carnivora. The members of the mustelid family are broad and include species of otter, weasels, minks, ferrets, martens, and other species of badgers. Curiously, you would think that skunks belong to this family, but recent molecular analysis suggests that they belong to their own group.

The honey badger and the wolverine would undoubtedly be at home in a scene from the Wind in the Willows, but they would never meet in real life. But I must admit to an interest in comparing these two animals because of their similarities and differences.

More About Mustelidae

The mustelid family is the largest in Carnivora, comprising 56 species. They are found on five of the seven continents, with Australia and Antarctica being the exception. The largest is the wolverine on land and the sea otter in the water.

The smallest is a creature called the Least Weasel and is tiny, weighing a maximum of 250 grams. All the members of this genetic family possess anal glands that secrete a substance that emits a musk scent used for territory and defense.

Wolverine Basics

I rather thought the Encyclopedia Britannica was joking when I looked up the scientific name of the wolverine – Gulo gulo. This must be the least scientific-sounding name I have encountered to date. But I digress.

The wolverine is also referred to as a Glutton Carcajou or Skunk Bear, although it is related to neither bears nor skunks. It is the largest of the land-dwelling mustelid family. It looks a little like a bear, though it is short and squat, with an average length of 26 to 40 inches, excluding its bushy tail, which is another 5-10 inches.

It has a shoulder height of approximately 14 to 18 inches, and it weighs around 66 pounds at maturity. It has short legs with semi-retractable claws (Hugh Jackman, eat your heart out). It has a black-brown coat and a light brown stripe on either side of the body … Read the rest of the story.

Can Honey Badgers Kill Lions

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Wild honey badgers are fearless, nasty, and amazing. They are tenacious and formidable fighters, and ”yes” a honey badger can kill a lion. The Guinness Book of World Records named the honey badger as ”the most fearless animal in all the animal kingdom.”

That’s quite a feat for such a small creature. These little beasts are not only fearless when it comes to attacking lions, they also think nothing of going after bees, jackals, venomous snakes, elephants, cobras, and mongooses. Basically, they’ll attack any animal without a second thought for their own safety.

Learn more about a honey badger vs a lion in a battle, honey badger attack moves, and its natural defensive weapons.

A Body Built to Fight

Although honey badgers only weigh from 11 to 40 pounds and grow from 1.5 to 2.5 feet long, their super thick skin protects them from predators. They also have a strong, offensive odor that repels other animals. Honey badgers rely on their sharp, long claws and powerful teeth to battle enemies.

Their teeth and jaws are so forceful, that they can chew through tortoise shells. They don’t have the best vision, but they have a tremendous sense of smell and exceptional hearing. When chasing prey, honey badgers gallop about 20 mph.

They also use their claws for digging small prey out of burrows.

How Does a Honey Badger Overpower a Lion?

Size isn’t the only factor when a honey badger faces off with a lion. The lion might weigh 500 pounds compared to a 40-pound honey badger, but the relentless and fearless honey badger is a formidable opponent. Although a honey badger doesn’t always win a battle against a lion, if it can get a strategic grip with its powerful teeth and jaws, it evens the odds.

Here are some other defensive moves a honey badger displays against a lion:

Flexible and Tough Skin

Honey badger skin is thick and tough, as well as flexible. A lion’s fangs are 4 inches long and powerful. But, if they only latch on to the badger’s skin and not its bones, the … Read the rest of the story.

How Smart Are Honey Badgers?

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Honey badgers, in addition to being incredibly fierce, aggressive, and grumpy, are surprisingly smart.  They have a large brain for their body size.  They are also one of the very few non-primate species that use tools, widely considered to be a sign of high intelligence by us tool-using humans.

  Watching a honey badger figure out that moving something to stand on it will allow them to get to high food is quite amazing – you can actually see the badger thinking, understanding, and planning. They appear to be able to get out of almost anywhere.  A famous, captive-raised honey badger named Stoffle, whose owner has published several videos about Stoffle’s ability to escape from virtually any enclosure.

Fascinating to watch, these videos show Stoffle planning, trying, and retrying, all in pursuit of gaining enough height to climb over the wall of the enclosure his owner calls the honey-badger Alcatraz. They have a large brain for their size, which is evidence, but not proof, of intelligence.  More importantly, they have been seen using tools to make bridges, open cages, and increase their height to get over a fence or wall.

Honey badgers haven’t been tested much for intelligence; they are far too aggressive and self-directed to be interested in proving anything to humans.  They really don’t like anyone very much and have been known to attack a ranger’s vehicle of a ranger trying to show one-off to some tourists. The internet has been fascinated by the career of Stoffle, a honey badger raised at the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Center in South Africa.

The clips show Stoffle, sometimes with his female friend, engaging in successful escape attempt after successful escape attempt. Stoffle uses tires, rakes, logs, rocks, mud, and his female friend, as tools to get out of his “escape-proof” enclosure.  Thus far, nothing has kept him in, and he’s even broken into the home of the man who built the enclosure.

Watching Stoffle plan and calculate and adjust his escape tools, one cannot avoid the conclusion that he is thinking, that he is manipulating these found objects as tools, every … Read the rest of the story.

How Big Do Honey Badgers Get? How Much Do They Weigh?

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The honey badger is an animal native to sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and India. Its name can fool you. It is not as sweet as its name sounds; this small, stocky mammal is a fierce, aggressive little creature. The World Almanac considers the Honey Badger the meanest animal in the world.

What Do Honey Badgers Look Like?

The Honey Badger belongs to the weasel family and is related to skunks, otters, other badgers, and ferrets. Though not a big animal, it has a stocky, flattened appearance. It has small eyes, with poor vision, short ears that hear well, and a keen sense of smell.

It has long claws on its front feet that it uses for digging and foraging for food. It has thick, coarse hair that is black and has a broad white to grey stripe that runs down its back from the top of its head to the tip of its tail. The skin hangs relatively loose on its body, allowing the mammal to turn and move freely within it.

The neck is 6 millimeters thick, making it difficult for anything to get through, and with its loose skin makes it easy for him to turn quickly and bite a predator. Similar to its relative, the skunk, the Honey Badger has a smell, not like honey but stinky like the skunk. The scent comes from a gland at the base of its tail; though not as lingering as the skunk’s smell, it gets the message across to leave him alone when he releases the awful smell.

How Big are Honey Badgers?

The Honey Badger is a solitary animal spending most of its life alone foraging for food. Only about the size of a small to medium-sized dog. Though don’t let their size fool you, because the bite of a honey badger is strong and the long front claws intense, making them quite fierce.

Even more interesting is the size of the honey badger’s brain, and it is large compared to other mammals its size. This mammal is considered intelligent because it is one of the few non-primate … Read the rest of the story.

Why Are Honey Badgers So Fearless?

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The short answer to this question is that honey badgers are fearless because they have every right to be.  They have skin that lets them attack even when held by the neck.  They are essentially immune to snake venom and scorpions and have even been known to chase off lions.

With those stats, I’d be fearless too.

Species, Size, and Shape

Honey badgers are members of the weasel family (multelid mellivoinae capensis).  Also known as ratels, honey badgers are omnivorous mammals with 12 subspecies.  The differences between the subspecies focus on the size and the coloring of the gray stripe on the back.  They are

M. c. Capensis (Cape ratel)

M. c. Indica (Indian ratel)

M. c. Inaurita (Nepalese ratel)

M. c. Leuconota (White-backed ratel)

M. c. Cottoni (Black ratel)

M. c. Concisa (Lake Chad ratel)

M. c. Signata (Speckled ratel)

M. c. Abyssinica (Ethiopian ratel)

M. c. Wilsoni (Persian ratel)

M. c. Maxwelli (Kenyan ratel)

M. c. Pumilio (Arabian ratel)

M. c. Buechneri (Turkmenian ratel)

The weight ranges from about 13 pounds to about 30 pounds within all those subspecies.  Tails range from 4 inches to about 9 inches, with the corresponding body lengths being about 24 inches to about 40 inches.  They range from 9 to 11 inches tall.

Honey badgers live up to 26 years in zoos, but their nocturnal and solitary nature means that we know little about how they live or how long in the wild.  The honey badger has a low flattish body with cobby legs and front claws that are up to three inches long and built for digging.  Strong muscles in the neck and a heavy jar make for an impressive bite force.

Honey badgers have thick loose skin on their backs and necks.  This means that when being held by an attacker by the neck, they can still turn and bite the attacker.  Further, the thick skin makes them virtually impervious to porcupine quills, bee stings, and even bites from smaller animals like snakes.

Like its relative, the skunk, the honey badger has a scent gland at the base … Read the rest of the story.

3 Different Types of Raccoons

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A raccoon is a grayish-brown mammal with a fox-like face. Its distinctive features include a ringed tail, masked face, and thick underfur that protects it from cold extremes. Its five-figured dexterous front hands (resembling human figures) also distinguish raccoons from the rest of the Procyonidae family.

It is native to North America, Canada, and some parts of Latin America. You would probably attest to how it ransacked and scattered the garbage in your trash if you have ever met one. Or how it cleared snakes, rats, lizards, and other varmints from your compound.

Yes, raccoons can be messy and useful at the same time. And the way you treat them depends on your perception. Want to learn more about these small animals?

Please keep reading to learn about the different types of raccoons,  their habitats, habits, favorite meal, life expectancy, and other aspects of this masked animal. Basically, there are three main types of raccoons:

Procyon Lotor

Procyon  Pygmaeus

Procyon Cancrivorus

Below  is a  detailed description  of  each of the above species:

1. Procyon Lotor-The Eastern Racoon

The eastern raccoon, aka the Procyon lotor, is the largest among all raccoon species. It is prevalent in most regions of Canada, Russia, Germany and almost all regions of the United States, excluding Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. They are ubiquitous.

You can find eastern raccoons in abandoned buildings, forests, cities, prairies, and marshes, among other areas.  More  specifically, they are known  to rest/sleep in tree  holes, abandoned vehicles, hollow trees, sewers, house burrows, rock crevices, barns, etc. The eastern raccoons are omnivores.

They can feast on fish, frogs, crabs, and other water critters, snakes, rats,garbage waste, plants, fruits, and birds and their eggs on land. These creatures use a combo of their strong sense of smell, sharp eyesight, and lightning-fast hands to locate, spot, and snatch their meals.  They last between two and three years.

The eastern raccoons don’t have permanent homes. Instead, they are nomadic within an established territory.  They will mark potential shelters within a  territory, where they can always rest after long hunting.

These nocturnals mate between January and March. … Read the rest of the story.

8 Different Types of Elk

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Camping in the Hoh Rain Forest of the Olympic National Park in Washington brought me far too close to a wild encounter with an elk. The Roosevelt Elk is one of the largest elk among the types that roam in the United States. One of these bulls came waltzing right by our vehicle as we were unloading at the campground.

Talk about a close encounter, the elk then sat down under a tree next to the entryway and was there for at least an hour. This animal is regarded as one of the kings of the forest, even in the rainforests of North America. Find out more about the different types of elk that are both extinct as well as present on our landscapes today.

Types of Elk Extinct in the Wild

Let’s start with a brief look at the types of elk that are unfortunately no longer present in our ecosystem. These include the Merriam elk and Eastern elk. The Merriam elk is truly extinct, while the Eastern elk was replaced by the Rocky Mountain elk.

There is also the Irish elk, aka the giant deer, which was one of the biggest and oldest species of elk. The Irish elk is actually not from Ireland at all but from Siberia. Before we focus on individual species of elk, here is an interesting question. What is the difference between an elk and a moose?

Elk vs Moose

The elk is sometimes confused with the moose, as these are both large horned species of deer. The horns of the male elk and moose are both very big, spreading as wide as an adult is tall. These horn racks are much more pronounced compared to even the largest bucks of the whitetail deer species. You can find elk living in:

North America

Central Asia

East Asia

Europe

If you see a big animal that is larger than a deer with an expansive set of horns, it is either a moose or an elk. So, like that famous question of crocodile or alligator, how can you tell the difference between a moose and … Read the rest of the story.

6 Different Types of Moose

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Have you ever seen a moose up close, in the wild? I have just once, and it was majestic. It was the turn of the season in the rocky mountains of Utah, when spring was finally coming to life.

We decided to take a drive through a popular loop in the mountains. We came to one particularly windy part of the road and noticed everyone slowing down, so we did too. As we drove by, we saw it just minding his business, grazing the fresh grass.

I couldn’t believe how big it was! I realize not many people have been so lucky to see one in the wild (since not everyone lives near the regions in which they roam). You may be surprised to know there are eight types of moose recognized in the world.

They primarily reside in North America and Eurasia, with there being four subspecies in each continental region. They were also introduced to the islands of Anticosti Island (in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence) and New Zealand. There has not been a moose sighted in New Zealand since 1952.

Moose have been roaming our planet since practically the dawn of time. The earliest species of moose date back to 2 million years ago, during the Pliocene epoch. Adult moose weigh anywhere from 800 lbs to 1,600 lbs.

Keep reading for a more detailed breakdown of each type of moose.

1. Alaskan Moose

The Alaskan Moose (Alces alces gigas, or “Yukon Moose” in Canada) is the largest subspecies. It can be found throughout Alaska and parts of the western Yukon in Canada. Male Alaskan moose grow to be 6 feet tall and weigh up to 1,600 pounds.

There are approximately 225,000 of this type of moose. Alaskan moose graze on vegetation and shoots from trees like willow and birch. They do not have upper front teeth so they rely on their 8 sharp incisors on their lower jaw to chew up rougher, woodier vegetation.

They require daily consumption of 9,770 kilocalories––think of how many milkshakes that divides out to! When a baby Alaskan moose reaches 10 or 11 months of … Read the rest of the story.

4 Different Types of Anteaters

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The anteater is a unique and fascinating animal unlike anything else found in nature. These large furry mammals may appear dangerous at first glance but are usually quite shy. Although they do have sharp claws that can be deadly if provoked, for the most part, they are not aggressive animals.

Anteaters have no teeth and instead feast on ants and termites using their large, flexible tongue. Many readers may be shocked to learn that not all anteaters are the same. There are actually four species of anteaters found in the wild.

Here is a look at the four types of anteaters and how they differ.

1. Northern Tamandua

Tamandua Mexicana, also known as the Northern Tamandua, is a medium-sized species of anteater known for its pale yellow fur, small eyes, and long snout. The northern Tamandua is a close relative of the Southern Tamandua, another type of anteater found in a different part of the world.

Natural Habitat: The northern Tamandua is known to inhabit forests, swamps, and grasslands in Southern Mexico, Central America, Columbia, Venezuela, Equator, and Peru. There are four separate subspecies of Northern Tamandua covering unique habitats.

The T.m. Mexicana is native to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador

The T.m. Instabilis is native to Venezuela and northern Columbia

The T.m. Opistholeuca is native to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and parts of Columbia

The T.m. Punensis is native to Ecuador and Peru

The northern Tamandua can be found in various types of forests within these regions, including mangrove swamps, evergreen, and deciduous forests, savannas, and thorn scrub. They are often found near rivers and streams and can live on the ground or in trees, and they will usually make a nest in a hollow tree, log, or hole in the ground.

Diet: The Northern Tamandua feasts primarily on ants and termites (where the name anteater comes from). They consume around 9,000 ants per day. They locate ant and termite colonies by the scent and use their sharp claws to disrupt the nest and suck up as many as possible. On occasion, they may consume tiny bits

… Read the rest of the story.

8 Different Types of Deer Worldwide

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Let’s start by acknowledging that there are more than 50 species of deer (Cervidae) worldwide.  It would take a tremendous lot of words to tell you much about all of them.  So, I will try to tell you a lot about some deer and a little about the rest of them.

1. White Tailed or Whitetail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

The deer most familiar to most Americans and to anyone who’s ever seen Bambi is the White Tailed Deer, the smallest member of the North American deer family.  More than two dozen subspecies of the Whitetail, most of them also in North America.  The way to recognize a Whitetail is to startle it.

It will run away from you and, as it does, lift its tail with a white underside as a warning to other deer.  The other deer, which process images and movement far more quickly than we do, will see the tail and also run. White-tailed deer forage to eat large amounts of food, including legumes that forage on other plants, such as shoots, leaves, and grasses.

They also eat acorns, fruit, and corn. Their multi-chambered stomachs allow them to eat some things we can’t, such as poisonous mushrooms and poison ivy. They also eat hay, grass, white clover, and other foods they can find in a farmyard.

A fully grown deer can eat around 2,000 lb annually. Whitetails are an extremely popular game animal in the northern and Midwestern United States.  They engage in extensive marking behaviors, some of which serve to guide hunters to them.

Males compete for females during the fall rut.  The rut gets shorter the further north the population is.  Females mate in the fall and give birth to one to three spotted fawns in May or June.

Hunting of whitetail is now strictly controlled in North America.  Human interaction, especially feeding and baiting, is discouraged, but suburban areas are heavily populated with deer that have become accustomed to human presence. Whitetails have no particular preferred sleeping environment, although they will sleep in heavy cover during the day.

In the winter, deer herd … Read the rest of the story.

18 Different Types of Scorpions

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Scorpions have a somewhat evil reputation as small but vicious creatures. If you’ve ever seen one from up close, you’ll understand why. Not only do scorpions look creepy and scary, but some of them are also venomous!

They fall into the Arachnida class and are related to spiders, ticks, and mites and can be found in many different areas all over the world. Most commonly, they are found in deserts, forests, and even places like the Himalayas. Let’s learn more about these fascinating Arachnids and how they continue to exist despite being killed on sight by humans.

Different Types of Scorpions

As if being one of the creepiest creatures on earth isn’t enough, there are also many different kinds of scorpions. Some of them are highly venomous and can cause real problems, while others aren’t a threat to anyone but their prey.

Most Venomous Scorpions

If you ever encounter any of the scorpions on this list, be careful! You can get hurt and even die if you mess with them. If the scorpion made its way into your home and you need to get rid of it, suck it up with a vacuum or use a broom and dustpan and take it outside.

1. Spitting Thick Tail Black Scorpion

The Spitting Thick Tail Black Scorpion is a native of South Africa and one of the most venomous types you’ll find. It can grow up to six inches tall and is typically found in desert areas and scrubland. As their name suggests, these scorpions have thick and powerful tails, two tiny pinchers, and a very potent sting.

This scorpion has two kinds of venom. The first venom is used to immobilize smaller prey, while the second one – which is more toxic – is used for bigger creatures like humans. What’s even scarier, this scorpion can spit venom which can go as far as three feet.

The venom can lead to temporary blindness and it is as potent as cyanide.

2. Yellow Fat Tail Scorpion

This is yet another scorpion that can be found in Africa and is considered … Read the rest of the story.

Where Do Honey Badgers Live?

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Honey badgers are one of the most adaptable species. They can be found in a vast number of areas, such as Africa, Western Asia, North America, and even the Middle East. Honey badgers are some of the most fearless animals, and this trait is one of the many reasons they can adapt to just about any area of the world.

The University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web, states that we can discover badgers in the western states of the US, Canadian provinces in the central-western region, and the hilly regions of Mexico. Their thicker skin also allows them to go fairly unbothered in the wild, as we will see as we continue reading.

Where do Honey Badgers Live?

Honey badgers are incredibly adaptable mammals that are native to Africa, the Middle East, and Western Asia. They tend to have a very wide living area ranging up to 193 square miles.  While this seems like a vast area to cover, honey badgers are up to the task.

Similar to domestic cats, they use their scent glands to mark their territory. Male and female honey badgers tend to occupy different territories, with males generally having more. Typically, honey badgers live a more nomadic lifestyle.

They do tend to stay in a general area. However, they do not sleep in the same spot every night.  They can build burrows or simply occupy the homes of their distant relatives.

The goal is to be well protected against predators since they usually sleep throughout the day. Before we delve further into where badgers live, let’s find out more about what they are.

What are Honey Badgers?

Honey badgers have a reputation for being one of the most fearless animals to ever live, but there is so much more to them.  Honey badgers are small-sized animals, usually weighing between 13 and 30 pounds. They are members of the weasel family with very thick skin that helps protect them from predators during fights.

Honey badgers got their name because they love to feed on honey and even honeybee larvae. If you take a glance at a honey badger, … Read the rest of the story.

What Do Honey Badgers Eat?

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If you answered honey, you would not be completely wrong. Honey badgers (Mellivora Capensis) are fierce omnivores with an adaptable diet that includes honey, honey bee larvae, roots, berries and fruit, insects, small mammals, and even amphibians and birds. Honey badgers are fascinating, rough-and-tumble creatures and undoubtedly worth knowing more about.

For parents, this mammal is a treasure trove for school projects.

Honey Badger Basics

Unsurprisingly, honey badgers belong to the same family of mammals as otters, weasels, other badgers, and wolverines. The genus of the honey badger is Mellivora, a subcategory of the mammalian family Mustelidae, of the Carnivora order. Honey badgers are also known by the name Ratel.

Honey badgers are medium-sized, with an average shoulder height of approximately 11 inches, and they weigh around 30 pounds at maturity. They are distinguishable by their thick black fur and a broad silver-white stripe from their head to their tail. Their muscular neck has a thick layer of skin that helps them wriggle around and escape opponents’ jaws.

They can secrete a potent scent from their anal glands to deter others. Honey badgers have stout bodies with long sharp claws and lethal teeth for tearing flesh, and by their very nature, they are formidable warriors. A honey badger’s sense of smell is powerful, balanced out by their eyesight, which is poor and limited hearing.

Honey Badger Habitat

Honey badgers are found predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa, parts of western Asia, and in Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. They prefer a dryer habitat but can adapt to forest and grassland biomes. They use their long claws to dig burrows for homes, or if they feel lazy and it is convenient, they are not above stealing other animals’ burrows.

If neither of these is an option, then honey badgers will make do with what they have, including using termite founds and exposed tree roots. Honey badgers are intelligent and are one of the species in the animal kingdom that uses tools to make their lives easier.

Eating Habits of the Honey Badger

We already know that the … Read the rest of the story.

Can You Have a Honey Badger as a Pet?

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Despite the sweet name, honey badgers have a salty personality. They are aggressive and have a scent defense mechanism. If that wasn’t enough to deter you from wanting one as a pet, they are also illegal to keep.

Even if you did manage to kidnap one, it wouldn’t last. Honey badgers are known for their sleight of hand escapes.  I first discovered the honey badger from a viral video over a decade ago.

It was a nature capture with a documentary feel of a honey badger interacting in the wild with a hilarious voiceover. The world was introduced to the honey badger in the best way possible, putting a little comedic relief on a sort of terrifying animal. But before we get too far down the smack talk road, let’s learn a little bit more about these fearless protein lovers.

About the Honey Badger

Because every animal is cute and innocent as a baby, let’s go back to the beginning. Sometime around 5,000,000 years ago, a carnivore in Asia evolved into what is now referred to as the honey badger. His ancient relatives had become extinct by this time and he was kind of alone as a species.

Perhaps that’s where the perpetual chip on his shoulder comes from.  Today, there are 12 honey badger subspecies that are spread out across two continents. So, he took his anger and let it multiply.

If you are on the hunt, you might run across one or nine in parts of India, the majority of Africa, and the Middle East west of Iran. Also, for some reason, Turkmenistan. Another misdirection about the honey budger is that it’s not a badger.

In reality, it’s more a weasel than anything else. Although to look at the two, you might see a resemblance to the Tasmanian devil in both appearance and name. Some might say a Tasmanian devil with an atrocious haircut, but I digress.

Most Fearless In The Animal Kingdom

While the honey badger is the largest terrestrial mammal of its type, the total height maxes out at about 11 inches. That’s roughly the … Read the rest of the story.

How Dangerous Are Honey Badgers?

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The honey badger (Mellivora capensis) is an omnivorous mammal originally from sub-Saharan Africa and fond of living in dry grasslands. The honey badger, also called a ratel, is a strong animal and, like all badgers, has a flattish body with short, cobby legs.

Its large, powerful front claws and feet are entirely adapted for digging.

Honey Badger Facts

The honey badger has a thick coat of coarse black hair with a broad gray stripe along with its head and back. Like another animal whose fur looks like that, honey badgers can use scent as a defensive weapon against a larger predator. Some scientists think this stench can also be calming to bees, making it easier for the badger to raid hives.

The fur and skin are incredibly loose, allowing the badger to turn and bite an attacker holding its hide. Honey badgers not only deliver a pretty mean bite, but they’re also relatively fearless – with reason – of the bites of others. They enjoy eating scorpions and snakes and have an unusual level of immunity to the venom.

 Thus, even when bitten, the honey badger walks away from a confrontation that might have killed another animal.   Honey badgers usually only have one or two cubs at a time. Their nocturnal nature, secretiveness, and overall charm mean that we don’t know much more than that about their breeding.

As a member of the weasel family, the honey badger is related to skunks, otters, ferrets, wolverines, and other badgers. Its common name is honey badger because of its habit of digging in beehives, but it was actually looking primarily for high-protein bee larvae, not the honey!  The badger’s range includes much of southern Africa and Asia, from Morocco to the Caspian Sea and the southern tip of Africa.

They live primarily in dry areas but also like forests and grasslands. Good swimmers, they can climb trees and are primarily nocturnal. The honey badger eats small birds and mammals and the young of larger mammals.

It also eats reptiles, snakes, insects, and scorpions, being immune to venom, as well as some … Read the rest of the story.

What Kills Honey Badgers (Other Than People)?

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Only a few natural predators go after honey badgers but they’re sometimes hunted by hyenas, lions, and leopards. The honey badger’s aggressive behavior, on the other hand, makes it a difficult meal for predators, and given the honey badger’s small size, predators’ efforts are frequently better spent obtaining an easier, meatier meal.

The honey badger is known for its hardness, aggressiveness, and strength. When escape is difficult, it is known to attack practically any other species viciously and fearlessly, even repelling much larger predators like lions and hyenas. The Guinness Book of World Records deems this animal the most fearless.

Animal bites, bee stings, and porcupine quills rarely penetrate their skin. A honey badger will attack horses, cattle, or Cape buffalos who enter its burrow.

What Kills Honey Badgers?

If you were to ask someone what causes the most honey badger deaths, they would probably assume a big animal such as a lion or leopard. However, many honey badgers have been found stung to death by bees.  You see, honey badgers love to consume honey and bee larvae.

They are willing to invade beehives in the hopes of attaining their favorite meal, even if it means getting stung hundreds of times. Their thick skin and fur aren’t usually able to protect them from these attacks. Honey badgers are some of the most ferocious animals, and this trait can typically lead to their death in the wild.

They are very aggressive and territorial animals, which means they don’t back down without a fight. Honey badgers have been known to go up against larger animals such as leopards, lions, tigers, and hyenas. They have been known to attack these larger animals to try and steal their food, but this tactic doesn’t usually end well for them.

They are much smaller in size than their opponents, which leaves them at a major disadvantage.  Overall, honey badgers generally don’t face many threats in the wild because of their aggressiveness, but this same trait usually leads to their overconfidence when attacking bigger animals. They can live up to seven years in the wild, which … Read the rest of the story.

Are Honey Badgers Dangerous to People?

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The honey badger looks unassuming. It’s the size of a medium dog and has coloring similar to a skunk. Sure, it’s known for being fierce, and even fearless, but is it really dangerous to people?

Is the honeybadger actually one of the most dangerous animals on the planet, or is its bark worse than its bite?  Honey badgers don’t typically attack people without provocation, but they can cause some harm if they attack.  The honey badger is part of the family Mustelidae.

Within the Mustelidae family, the honey badger is the species Mellivora. In fact, it’s the only species within the Mellivora group.  Other members of the Mustelidae family include badgers, weasels, ferrets, minks,and wolverines.

Badgers, also known as European badgers, are similar in appearance to honey badgers. However, they are the more even-tempered of the two species.  Honey badgers are native to sub-Saharan Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and western Asia.

Surprisingly, they can live in a variety of habitats, including tropical rainforests, and cool mountain tops.  They have a wide territorial range and are fairly solitary creatures.

Honey Badgers and People Don’t Mix

We’ll get into what makes honey badgers so dangerous in a moment. First, you should know that a honey badger can do serious harm to a human.  There are legends of them killing humans, but these claims are hard to verify.

In the early 1900s, there were plenty of reports of badgers biting off the most sensitive bits of men, leaving them to bleed to death. However, there are no recent reports of this, so it’s just a legend, right? Surprisingly, the behavior is well documented.

Zoological studies have shown that when up against a large animal, like a lion or hyena, the honey badger will remove the animal’s testicles as a way to defend itself.  Not only is the honey badger named “the world’s fiercest animal” by the Guinness Book of Records, it isn’t afraid to strike a low blow.  Has a honey badger ever killed a human?

It’s nearly certain they have. Are they likely to kill you? Perhaps not, but they are likely to cause injuries … Read the rest of the story.

Can Honey Badgers Swim?

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Yes, honey badgers can swim and they do so pretty well. These animals are well-rounded, meaning they are agile on land, in trees, and the water. Maybe this is among the reasons they’re so fearless, as they can outswim predators and swim after their prey.

Honey badgers are amazing to both watch and read about. Their agility is of the highest level, driving fear sometimes and annoyance into large predators, including the king of the jungle, the lion. Let’s look into the lives of these amazing animals and see how swimming fits into their daily life, despite their usually dry habitats.

Can Honey Badgers Swim?

As mentioned earlier, not only can honey badgers swim, but they’re good at swimming. When it comes to swimming, with only a handful of exceptions, most mammals can. Honey badgers, on the other hand, are among the greatest at swimming.

They can swim because they are weasels. However, the honey badgers, on the other hand, appear to swim solely as a matter of need, and not regularly for fun. It’s also important to remember that the moist worms that badgers consume provide much of the liquid they need to survive, so they don’t need much water to drink except in hot, dry summers or frigid winters.

When do Honey Badgers Swim?

It is not uncommon for badgers to be capable swimmers like other animals, although this is not something they actively want to do. Badgers will make use of bridges and fallen trees across water bodies when available to avoid swimming.

When a tree falls across a stream, badgers utilize it as a place to rest their paws for a long period, until the bark wears away and the surface gets too smooth. However, there have been accounts of badgers crossing a canal to get to a special location for good foraging. A badger may or may not be able to swim depending on the situation.

What are Honey Badgers?

Honey Badgers belong to the weasel family, so yes, they are relatives of otters,  ferrets, the skunk, and more. Despite their name, they … Read the rest of the story.

How Many Babies Do Honey Badgers Have?

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Honey badgers usually have just one baby at a time. Baby honey badgers are referred to as cubs. Female honey badgers are left to give birth and raise their cubs all alone. Cubs depend on their mother for a couple of months, until the mother decides it’s time for them to start finding their food.

Though only one honey badger cub is delivered at a time, it is not uncommon for multiple babies to share a burrow. During this period, they are taken care of by their mothers.  Honey badgers typically stay together at younger ages but become more isolated as they grow older.

Let’s look at honey badgers, their

Honey Badger Babies

Female badgers are left isolated to give birth and raise their baby cubs. The pregnant mother digs a burrow, or nursery chamber, for her infant, and lines it with grass. One cub, in rare cases two, is born after a 7 to 10-week gestation period.

A honey badger baby has pink skin and closed eyelids and is hairless. Its skin begins to turn from pink to gray at one week of age, and fine gray hair begins to develop two weeks later. After approximately a week, the typical white stripe appears.

The cub begins to closely resemble its parents when they reach around three months old. They attain adult size at 6 months, but they aren’t ready to go off on their own quite yet. When a honey badger is around fourteen months to two years old, they start learning the crucial hunting tactics needed to survive by themselves in the wild.

How Often Do Honey Badgers Have Babies?

Even though badgers can mate whenever they choose, they only have a single litter annually as the implantation is delayed. They deliver their cubs between January and March, in the middle to the latter part of winter. Male honey badgers don’t play a role in a cub’s life.

They leave the females during pregnancy to deal with everything on their own. You can think of the females in this situation as single mothers. Male honey badgers also grow … Read the rest of the story.

Are Honey Badgers Immune to Venom? If So, How?

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“Hey Mom, do you know what a honey badger is?”

I grunted in reply as I tried to squeeze into the closet to retrieve the hidden feather duster.  “They like to pick fights with everyone. Look, Mom!

They’re mean with super sharp teeth. Did you know they can break into a tortoiseshell?” My inquisitive yet slightly annoying ten-year-old son asked me on a typical sunny Saturday afternoon.

He’s got his laptop on with a YouTube video and all I hear is growling and hissing with an occasional roar from a lion. I dug into another part of the closet, hoping it would be behind the vacuum.  “Yup,” I answered him, giving up shortly after not finding the darn thing.

I looked at his laptop. It’s a honey badger confronting 3 lionesses in the dry African savanna. “You do? They play dirty.

They go for the balls when they fight. Like rip them off and wait for the other guy to bleed out. Look, they’re fighting a bunch of lions right now.

” My son pauses to gulp more air before continuing.   “Did you know that honey badgers are immune to venom?”  Like so many other kids his age, Dean is fascinated with zoology – the study of the animal classification, physiology, behavior, and structure of the animal kingdom.

“Why is that? How do they not get sick? Are they immune?”

Dean asked, not waiting for an answer. I had a feeling my Saturday cleaning would have to wait. With a mind like his, this was possibly the only time to take advantage of his curiosity.

It wouldn’t be long before he would think he was smarter than me and his dad.

“Well, I don’t know. We can look into researching this.”

Honey badgers. The name implies something cute and cuddly. Except it isn’t.

These ferocious ratels are related to skunks, ferrets, and even otters. They’re mostly found in Africa, the Middle East, parts of India and Southwest Asia, with their habitat in grasslands, forests, mountains, and deserts. Black coarse hair with a white stripe running down from the top … Read the rest of the story.

How Do Porcupines Care for and Raise their Young?

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Porcupines are cute, prickly mammals that live in the desert, hills, and dense forests. They are very versatile, in that they can adapt to many different habitats. Because of this resilience, I became curious: how do porcupines care for their young?

Adapting to various surroundings by themselves is one thing; caring for and protecting their children in those differing environments is a whole other concern. The many methods porcupines have for taking care of their kids are interesting—here is a breakdown of some of them.

How do Porcupines Feed Their Children?

The diet of porcupines consists largely of veggies, fruits, and various herbs. Porcupines are primarily herbivores. A particularly fascinating aspect of porcupines is how they obtain food, and how they provide food for their children.

Their herbivorous diet is just as diverse as the locales they can be found in. This is also because their selection of foods changes with the seasons. One of the most common ways porcupines get food for their young is from trees.

The parent porcupines will lead their children to the base of a tree they want to get food from. For safety, the kids will stay huddled together at the bottom of the tree. Then, the parent or parents will begin their climb upward.

The kids will just have to wait patiently for their meal to arrive. Porcupines will eat tree bark and pine needles, which are a good source of sustenance in winter. They also eat grass on occasion.

Once the parent(s) are back from their trip up the tree, their young will have something tasty to snack on. While it is not the primary part of their diet, porcupines do eat meat. They do not prey on other animals to do this, however, and only eat meat when their options are very limited.

The only method of gathering meat is when they find animal remains. This makes this portion of their diet solely out of survival needs. Keeping the kids fed and happy is one aspect of care.

What about when they have to battle the elements?

Porcupine Parents and … Read the rest of the story.

How Do Porcupines Stay Warm?

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Porcupines don’t hibernate, so they need to prepare for cold months, especially since they can be found in places that get very cold in the winter, such as Alaska. They start the winter with as much as half their weight being fat. With the knowledge of the warmer places to bed down, help from a thick undercoat, and this added fat, they can get through most winter conditions.

These prickly little critters have developed a complete routine to keep themselves warm. Let’s take a look.

Storing Fat

Biologist Jessy Coltrane spent time in Alaska studying the porcupines for a paper. She monitored several of these little creatures and made the discovery that at least fifty percent of the weight they carried going into winter was fat. Throughout the winter, they moved very little, reserving their energy and living off that stored fat when they were unable to get out to eat.

In order to reserve as much energy as possible, they moved very rarely and did sleep a lot.

Winter Coat

The coat is a porcupine and is multi-layered. It consists of a wooly undercoat that is made up of soft hairs. This coat is covered with coarse guard hairs that help protect the porcupine itself.

Then the areas of its back, tail, and sides are covered with quills, which are hollow, allowing for the air inside to be warmer from its body heat. Normally, the body temperature of a porcupine is that of humans, and scientists have discovered that both hot and cold temperatures don’t cause it to vary much because of this protection. In addition, many types of porcupines grow an additional layer of fur on the outside that looks like a wooly winter coat and adds protection from the cold.

Homebodies

Porcupines are very fond of living in trees but during the winter they seek out areas that can protect them from the wind, keeping them warmer. They have a preference for rocky ledges with crevices but will also utilize hollow trees or the deserted dens of beavers and other animals. For those who live further up … Read the rest of the story.

How Many Tropical Rainforests Are There?

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One of my favorite facts about rainforests is that they’re cornucopias of life. According to worldrainforestday.org, rainforests contain about 50% of all terrestrial biodiversity. But, how many rainforests are there to be able to harbor such a considerable amount of ecosystems?

Well, scientists don’t usually refer to the number of rainforests in the world per se. Instead, they talk more about the amount of rainforest coverage in the world.

Tropical Rainforests Vs. Temperate Rainforests

This article talks about how many tropical rainforests there are in the world. However, tropical rainforests are only one type of rainforest. Rainforests are mainly divided into tropical and temperate rainforests.

Both tropical and temperate rainforests are located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Rainforests are found on every continent, with the exception of Antarctica.

The main difference between tropical and temperate rainforests is that tropical rainforests are located closer to the equator, where the temperatures are warmer. On the other hand, temperate rainforests are found to the north and the south of the equator, along the cooler coastal regions. In addition, temperate rainforests have less biodiversity and receive fewer inches of rain per year.

For a rainforest to be classified as such, it must receive 60-80 inches of rainfall each year. Generally, a rainforest is defined as a forest that gets a lot of rainfall. In fact, it rains throughout the year in the tropical rainforest, and the environment is always hot and moist.

Another characteristic of rainforests is the four distinct layers.

Emergent layer. Emergents are the tall, giant trees that grow above the general canopy. Their height ranges from 70 to 100m.

Canopy layer. The canopy layer is the largest part of the rainforest, and the trees here also grow to be very tall. The canopy layer overlaps so much it creates a roof over the forest that prevents sunlight from reaching the forest floor.

The understory. The understory is a humid and damp level made up of smaller plants and trees, such as vines and palms. These plants have adapted to environments where there’s little

… Read the rest of the story.

Can Porcupines kill Snakes? Cats? Chickens?

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Porcupines are generally not aggressive animals; however, they will react if attacked. Their quills can be very sharp and painful for any animal or human being who tries to threaten them. Here is a closer look at the traits of a porcupine and whether or not they are a danger to other animals.

What is a Porcupine?

Erethizon Dorsatum, better known as the North American porcupine, is a mammal in the rodent family notable for its quill-covered bodies. Adult porcupines have about 30,000 quills covering their bodies, used for defense and keeping their bodies warm in the winter. Contrary to popular belief, the quills of a porcupine are not poisonous.

However, they are very sharp and can cause serious injury to any other animal who comes in contact with them. The quills also have barbs at the end, making them painful to remove. Porcupines are slow-moving creatures that are natural herbivores, so they are not known to be aggressive or hostile to other animals.

But if attacked, they will use their quills to ward off other predators. They can’t shoot their quills at an attacking animal, but they will use their body to target specific areas on a predator’s body.

Can Porcupines Kill Snakes?

Even though porcupines are the second-largest rodent on earth, snakes are known to occasionally target them as prey. Snakes like pythons and vipers are known for swallowing a porcupine’s whole, which can often be a deadly mistake. A study published by the Phyllomedusa Journal of Herpetology in 2003 found that porcupine quills are sharp enough to pierce through the body of a snake.

So, if a snake tries to swallow a porcupine whole, it can cause severe injury and even death from the impact of the quills. It turns out that it’s rare for porcupines and snakes to encounter one another, but it does occur. Another similar study cited more than ten documented instances of porcupines harming snakes, with an estimated survival rate of 33%.

Porcupines are a high-risk meal for a hungry viper or python. But if they are hungry enough or don’t see … Read the rest of the story.

How Many Teeth Do Porcupines Have?

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Porcupines have twenty teeth. This includes four incisors and 16 molars. Like many members of the rodent family, their front two molars never stop growing.

Unlike other rodents, their teeth are bright orange in color. With so many teeth, you would think that these animals would bite when fighting, but they are not known for biting. They do use their teeth in a unique way when they are defending themselves, however.

We will find out how a bit later. Let’s take a deeper look into porcupine teeth and their unusual qualities.

Always Growing

Incisors on a porcupine never stop growing. This could become a problem if the porcupine doesn’t find a way to grind the teeth down to a manageable size. If they become too long, he won’t be able to eat. Being plant-eaters, the food a porcupine eats doesn’t do much in the way of helping to grind the teeth down.

This is why you often find porcupines gnawing on tree bark. In addition to tree bark, porcupines will gnaw on deer antlers that have fallen off in the winter. In addition to helping grind the teeth to a manageable size, the antlers help provide salt and other minerals that the porcupine needs to be healthy.

Porcupines can also be found munching on boat oars and other wooden objects around the camps of humans. They seem to be particularly attracted to things that are covered in human sweat. This is most likely because the sweat contains salt, which is something that all porcupines crave and will actively seek out.

Orange Teeth?

Something that may surprise you if you happen upon a porcupine is that they are bright orange in color. This is because the teeth contain a high amount of iron oxide that makes up the enamel. Not all rodents have this color, but porcupines do share this trait with beavers.

The mineral iron that makes up the enamel allows the coating of the teeth to become stronger than if the coating contained the traditional magnesium that makes up most teeth enamel.

This allows the porcupine to … Read the rest of the story.

What Do Porcupines Like to Do?

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Even though porcupines are best known for their sharp quills, there’s more to these rodents than meets the eye! Porcupines are nocturnal creatures, which means they’re mostly active at night. During this time, it’s common to see porcupines foraging for food, munching on grass, or even climbing trees!

You might also find a porcupine in the water! While porcupines might not look like natural swimmers, their quills are actually filled with air that helps make them more buoyant. Swimming gives porcupines access to a wider range of food sources and can also help them to escape from predators.

What Do Porcupines Like to Eat?

Porcupines are herbivores, which means they primarily eat plants. While their diets can vary based on the season, some of the foods they enjoy include grass, stems, bark, nuts, and fruit.

Although porcupines mostly eat food that they find scattered on the ground, they’ll pull branches, bark, and leaves from trees when they need more to eat.

When they’re in the water, porcupines seek out water plants, such as water lilies and arrowheads. Since the predators that are a threat to porcupines primarily live on land, swimming skills help to ensure that porcupines always have access to food when they need it. Porcupines that are kept in captivity may enjoy a wider range of foods.

Maggie, one of the Brookfield Zoo’s animal specialists, says that porcupines have the chance to try many different treats. “We like to offer animals all kinds of enriching items so that they can explore different things and get new items in their diet,” she says. “Every once in a while [our porcupines will] get new exciting items, like a piece of sugarcane.”

Are There Different Types of Porcupines?

There are more than 50 different porcupine species worldwide. These species belong to two different families: Old World and New World porcupines. These families vary in a number of ways.

Old World Porcupines

Species in this family are native to Africa, Asia, and Italy. They’re round, stout, and have flattened quills. These porcupines tend to be much larger than species in the … Read the rest of the story.

Can Porcupines Float in Water? How?

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Porcupines are great swimmers. That is, some breeds of them are. The North American porcupine, the crested porcupine, and the brush-tailed porcupines all love swimming!

You can go for a walk in a wooded area and probably wouldn’t be surprised to come across a porcupine nibbling on leaves or berries. Having one fall out of a tree might surprise you for a minute, but you wouldn’t think it out of place.

However, can you imagine walking along a beach or taking a swim and coming across one of these prickly critters passing you? It just might happen.

The Nature of Porcupines

Porcupines live in many different areas but normally stick with areas where they can climb trees or find roots and other small areas to hide in. While they have great protection with all those quills, these animals are by nature very docile and prefer not to fight. On land, they are clumsy and slow.

Normally, they are satisfied with the food they can find where they live. Like humans, however, they may get cravings for a certain delicacy that can only be found in water and they will set off to find it. In the water, they are quite agile and move quickly.

How Porcupines Swim

The average porcupine has over 30,000 quills covering its back, legs, and tail. Each of these quills is actually hollow inside and very lightweight. The hollow space is filled with air and this allows the quills to float.

With so many attached to the porcupine’s body, they work like little life jackets and keep it afloat. It probably doesn’t hurt that their little round bodies would also lend themselves to buoyancy! Once the porcupine is afloat, it can use its paws like a dog paddling in the water.

This moves him ahead and helps him control the direction he wants to head in.

Why Porcupines Swim

It is possible that some porcupines just like being in the water. It can cool them in the summer and they are less likely to be bothered by predators. We haven’t found one that can … Read the rest of the story.

How Fast Can Porcupines Run?

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Porcupines are defined as rodents for all intents and purposes. However, there are also incredibly interesting creatures in that they live interesting lives and have at least some interaction with the human world. People sometimes want to know a few facts about porcupines that have been burning inside their minds since they first heard about these creatures.

They are interested in learning more about them because they are so fascinating in many respects. To help better understand all that we possibly can about them, we must first begin by asking the right types of questions. For example, how fast can porcupines run?

What Is The Top Speed For A Porcupine?

You might not think of porcupines as being much into running. Indeed, this creature prefers to walk or remain in place for long periods of time as it looks around for food sources. They are not known for being natural runners, but they will bolt if they feel that they are in danger in some way.

Many porcupines may run when they see humans because they are fearful about what a human may do to them. Porcupines have been clocked at a top speed of six miles per hour. This is not very fast by human standards, but given their size and the size of their legs, it is just about the best that a porcupine can do under the circumstances.

Again, they are not particularly designed for speed, so it makes some sense that porcupines are not known for having top-notch speeds when they run from potential predators.

All of that said, porcupines are able to get away from some predators when they are threatened. They wouldn’t have survived for as long as they have if it weren’t for the fact that they have learned how to get away when danger is upon them.

Other Defensive Measures

Porcupines are less known for their running abilities and more known for the quills that are on their back. This is a defensive measure that porcupines have against predators who may want to do them harm. Their quills are quite sharp … Read the rest of the story.