Mammalian spines have evolved from modified hairs, made of a fibrous protein called keratin. Technically, a distinction is sometimes made between spines and quills, but in general usage, the two terms ...

When researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston went looking for the future of jamming a sharp thing inside of you, they looked to a creature that has built it’s reputation — and ensured ...

At first glance, a hedgehog and a porcupine can look surprisingly similar. Both are covered in sharp-looking spines, both ...

The thin-spined porcupine, also known as the bristle-spined rat, is a truly distinct animal: a sort of cross between New World porcupines and spiny rats with genetic research showing it is slightly ...

Lions can bring down wildebeests and giraffes, but when they try to hunt porcupines, the spiky rodents often come out on top. When lions attack porcupines (it's usually young male lions that make that ...

We came upon a dead porcupine recently… freshly expired most likely, the poor fellow well preserved but still soft, his brown and tan quills swaying in the forest breeze. My daughter had never seen a ...

In August of this year, Allison Noles rushed her bulldog Bella Mae to the vet. The dog’s face looked like a pincushion, with some 500 spines protruding from her face, paws and body. The internet is ...