Porcupines - Any good about them?

[GM doc]

Is there anything good that comes from a Porcupine? I will take all that I see "out" of service.

[NickNH]

They do a good job keeping the Emergency Vets open since they always seem to quill dogs AFTER the regular vet has closed.....

I'm sure they serve some other purpose but I'm at a loss to know what.....

[Pineedles]

According to the National Geographic the following is an attribute to the porcupine.

"North American porcupines use their large front teeth to satisfy a healthy appetite for wood. They eat natural bark and stems, and have been known to invade campgrounds and chew on canoe paddles. "

So if you are GFBL advocate, I guess you might like these little guys.

[Belmont Resident]

Originally Posted by Pineedles

According to the National Geographic the following is an attribute to the porcupine.

"North American porcupines use their large front teeth to satisfy a healthy appetite for wood. They eat natural bark and stems, and have been known to invade campgrounds and chew on canoe paddles. "

So if you are GFBL advocate, I guess you might like these little guys.

what they are good for, but as far as I know they do not chew their way into house our and build nests in attics like every squirrel I see and shoot does if given half a chance.
Those cute little chipmunks also get in but they are to small to shoot so we use Decon on them. Grrr, I hate our 200+ year old farm house...

[bclaker]

Where I used to hunt in Freedom, porcupines had broken into an abandoned house deep in the woodsand eaten all the stair treads. They also chew the bark circling a tree and eventually the tree dies.

[ITD]

This one thinks he is a dog..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5I5H7EeC8k

[NickNH]

Ok, THAT porcupine is adorable...but, somehow, he's been "de-quilled" or the person playing with him would be full of them. As soon as you touch them they release....I've had to follow my husband when he was "sweeping" a porcupine away from our house and I was picking up quills that the porky dropped so my dogs wouldn't get into them. Those things are sharper than a needle! Even picking them up CAREFULLY I've gotten them into me...I see something that looks like "new" quills on him but they must somehow take them off.....

I've also seen a really cute video of a porcupine eating a banana (or some type of fruit). But THAT one had quills....and he talked.....

[Kamper]

You can kill them with a stick and they supposedly taste good.

[Merrymeeting]

After you Kamper!

[PaugusBayFireFighter]

It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold.

The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions.

After a while, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth.

Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.

The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities.

So, the moral of the story is:
Just learn to live with the pricks in your life.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by NickNH

Ok, THAT porcupine is adorable...but, somehow, he's been "de-quilled" or the person playing with him would be full of them. As soon as you touch them they release....I've had to follow my husband when he was "sweeping" a porcupine away from our house and I was picking up quills that the porky dropped so my dogs wouldn't get into them. Those things are sharper than a needle! Even picking them up CAREFULLY I've gotten them into me...I see something that looks like "new" quills on him but they must somehow take them off.....

I've also seen a really cute video of a porcupine eating a banana (or some type of fruit). But THAT one had quills....and he talked.....

'Not as good as the previous video, but was it this video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y4cQEEyuTw

_______________________

What are porcupines "good" for?

They keep Fisher cats in good health.

_______________________


'Wondering how they removed those quills.

Perhaps with a pressure-cleaner?

[GM doc]

I would have thought that you were smarter than me! The ONLY "fisher cats" I know of, are a baseball team in Manchester NH. Does the Baseball team eat them before a game?

Originally Posted by Acres per Second

'Not as good as the previous video, but was it this video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y4cQEEyuTw

_______________________

What are porcupines "good" for?

They keep Fisher cats in good health.

_______________________


'Wondering how they removed those quills.

Perhaps with a pressure-cleaner?

[ITD]

Originally Posted by GM doc

I would have thought that you were smarter than me! The ONLY "fisher cats" I know of, are a baseball team in Manchester NH. Does the Baseball team eat them before a game?

Don't try to pet this kitty

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_%28animal%29

[extremenewenglander]

Originally Posted by Belmont Resident

what they are good for, but as far as I know they do not chew their way into house our and build nests in attics like every squirrel I see and shoot does if given half a chance.
Those cute little chipmunks also get in but they are to small to shoot so we use Decon on them. Grrr, I hate our 200+ year old farm house...

Please consider the link the next time you want to use a rat/mouse poison like Decon http://www.wildlifehotline.com/poison-risks/
Very sad way for a beautiful animal like an owl to die. A cat, spring trap, or live trap is the best way for a humane kill or catch and release.

[Lakesrider]

You know what Decon stands for right? DECONSTRUCT. It's what you have to do to get the dead stinky animals out of your walls after you use it....

[ApS]

Originally Posted by GM doc

"...The ONLY "fisher cats" I know of, are a baseball team in Manchester NH. Does the Baseball team eat them before a game...?"

I used Fisher "cats"—rather than only "Fisher"—because there are Fisher
"spiders"!

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Acres per Second

I used Fisher "cats"—rather than only "Fisher"—because there are Fisher
"spiders"!

The "Fisher" is probably better known by most people as the "Fisher Cat". I have always called it the "Fisher Cat".

Even the NH Fish and Game says that the Fisher is "locally called fisher-cat".

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wild...ile_fisher.htm

[NickNH]

Sorry...haven't been on for awhile....here's the adorable video of the talking porcupine eating a banana:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZvgG2XAa18

[Whimsey]

Porcupine...the other white meat.

[RailroadJoe]

Tastes like chicken!

[Coastal Laker]

If you should ever be faced with a nuisance porcupine, don't shoot it! Well, not anywhere near your home anyway. My dad had one chewing the wooden steps on the house and couldn't get rid of it, no matter what was tried. He shot it with his small shotgun and quills went everywhere. For months the dog kept getting quills in its paws regardless of cleaning up the mess. Some of those quills are so fine, you just can't see them. House is in the woods - with pine trees.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by Coastal Laker

If you should ever be faced with a nuisance porcupine, don't shoot it! Well, not anywhere near your home anyway. My dad had one chewing the wooden steps on the house and couldn't get rid of it, no matter what was tried. He shot it with his small shotgun and quills went everywhere. For months the dog kept getting quills in its paws regardless of cleaning up the mess. Some of those quills are so fine, you just can't see them. House is in the woods - with pine trees.

I have never seen that happen and I hunted them throughout my teenage years for spending money as there was a bounty of 50¢ in Maine for each right front paw and nose. We shot them mostly out of hardwood trees mostly popular. Another good place was in the cracks of ledge where one would pull them out with a long stick with a hook on the end and when outside you would hit it on the nose with a baseball bat. Thanks for bringing up some great memories that happened over 62 years ago. Kids back then would do most anything for a few nickles.