Rare First as Prickly Porcupette Born at Longleat

Thursday, 27 March 2025 07:05

A prickly new arrival has been born at Longleat in a first for the park. The Wiltshire Estate has welcomed a baby North American tree porcupine, otherwise known as a porcupette.

Born to mum Fennel and dad Mango, both are first time parents, with Mango only arriving at the park last spring. The gestation period for this species is around seven months with females giving birth to a single offspring.

Porcupettes are born with soft quills to allow the mother to give birth, but these harden into regular quills within hours of birth. They begin eating vegetables at around two weeks old and will be fully weaned by three months old.

Samantha Peeke, Longleat Animal Adventure keeper said: “We’re really excited for this arrival, as it’s something we as keepers have been waiting a long time for. Fennel and Mango really hit it off when they were introduced last year, and it’s amazing to already have a little porcupette with us.

“Porcupettes are born with their eyes open and able to move around by themselves, which the little one took in its stride when it ventured out of the nest box and into the outdoors at less than a day old.

Adult Tree Porcupete (Image: Longleat)

“The little one was spotted attempting to climb branches and chew on trees, although they were a little wobbly at first and definitely need more practice.

“It’s common for the mum to leave their young at the bottom of the tree whilst they go and forage, and Fennel has been doing incredibly well as a first-time mum and has been protective of her baby as we would expect.

“Mango hasn’t shown too much interest in the porcupette, he’s much more interested in his dinner,” she added.

The porcupette hasn’t been sexed or named yet and is currently dependent on mum to be fed. It is thought to be one of only three North American tree porcupines born in the UK in the last 12 months.