Wooden tool handles absorb salt from sweat which is certain to attract feeding porcupines. To answer the question more specifically would mean looking into … They're nocturnal animals which mean they primarily come out at night, but it's not uncommon to see them during … They do have a few nasty habits though. Hi, I'm Tim and I want to welcome you to wanttoknowit.com. Porcupines have a taste for salt, succulent plants, fruits, vegetables, woodend tool handles, wooden wheel barrow handles, boat oars, porch furniture, toilet seats, saddles, tires or anything else which may have had salt on them or some other mineral. The new world porcupines have a habit of eating pine needles, fruits, nuts, flowers, grasses, an aquatic plantations. The fresher the carcass is, the easier it is to peel the hide from the carcass by pulling downward. Sometimes, they will even take carrion back to the burrow to nibble on. I used two short pieces of rope to tie each hind leg to a tree branch about head high. Your email address will not be published. In the winter it can be tough for them to find such foods. They don’t need a large amount of food and they eat less than a pound of food per day. People also collect quills for ornaments. Some porcupines love wood and eat a lot of bark and stems. If you want to save the entire hide and quills, the head can be skinned as well. The porcupine is a large, spiny rodent that can be found in the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. How much good can porcupine meat be as a survival food if you end up getting your hands bloodied from quills while trying to make use of it? Predators always take a chance when they attack a porcupine, because they risk getting quills in the face and eyes. Having posted recordings of the groundhog and raccoon, several of my readers inquired about the porcupine. Although a porcupine carcass can be cut into pieces for cooking, like Brian MacDonald typically does, the animal can also be cooked in one piece after it has been thoroughly cleaned and rinsed with water. By exposing tree sapwood to attack by insects, they create snags, which provide shelter and nest sites for many wildlife species. Porcupines are vegetarians and eat almost any plant material, but, particularly during the winter months, trees are special favorites: bark, branches, leaves, buds, twigs and such are commonly eaten. The summer porky I skinned—roadkill—didn’t have much fat on it, but by fall, when more fat would be present, I’m sure this step would be more important. The mystery surrounding how to handle a porcupine for consumption remained until I hunted black bear with a Native American guide in Saskatchewan who grew up eating them. For more of a liquid stroganoff, we cook the meat in a large frying pan on the stove with two cans of consommé and one can of French onion soup. Andrew Zimmern, whose stomach has hosted more animals than Noah’s Ark, has made a career vicariously eating on behalf of the unadventurous among us. Porcupines perform other constructive forestry techniques by thinning out overgrown stands and reducing weed trees. These animals only den in hollow logs or abandoned burrows on the coldest winter days. Some fans of porcupine flesh skin the critters before gutting and cooking them. Beyond forests, you may find them alongside river undergrowth and maybe in the trees by a rocky ledge. North American Marten. Generally, they stay close to home leaving their dens for food — porcupines eat a variety of shrubs, bark, water plants and they love anything salty. Very carefully! But no one ever addressed how to handle the critters for eating. His name is Brian MacDonald, and he lives in Buffalo Narrows. Then we cut the carcass up into pieces and boil it. Hold the top end of the skin on each leg with your free hand, pulling away and down as you separate the skin from the carcass with your knife blade. If they can’t ge… Since porcupines are very slow-moving, anyone lost in woods where porcupines live can always eat. At the Zoo, prehensile-tailed porcupines are fed biscuits, root vegetables, nuts and greens. Three animals, however, has figured out how to eat porcupines. Whatever your particular attitude is, should you want to try a porcupine, go right ahead. Chunks of porky meat can also be used in stews or stroganoff. Prehensile-tailed porcupines are herbivores that eat leaves, flowers, shoots, roots and the cambium layer found beneath the bark of some trees. Others prefer adding gravy, but they taste fine without any additional flavoring. “If you’ve got a fire that’s burned down to the coals, you can lay a porky on the coals, quills down, and roll it from side to side to burn off the quills, too. Once a porky has been skinned, the animal can then be gutted and butchered without worry about the quills. During other seasons, favored foods are the bark, buds, and needles of trees. During the summer, they eat twigs, roots, stems, berries, and other vegetation. The porcupines living in farms feed on crops like groundnuts, pumpkins, and melons too. The Diet of the Porcupine Bobcats, cougars and fishers have learned that a porcupine has no quills on its stomach. They are also attracted to roads during winter in areas where rock salt is used to melt the snow and have been known to chew on tires and snow chains to get the salt off. A. Porcupines occasionally will cause considerable economic loss as they eat forest plantings, orchards and implements. In the winter when food is scarce the porcupine will also eat bark. At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, the porcupines eat herbivore pellets and a variety of fruits, vegetables and greens. Porcupines are constantly active and therefore they need to seek food at all times. It eats a variety of plants, leaves, twigs and herbs. Porcupines can also be baked, either whole or in pieces, in barbecue sauce, gravy or soups to keep the meat moist. Porcupines need natural slat in their diet and often get this from plants such as yellow water lilies and aquatic liverwort. Porky meat can be substituted for the burger. Once those two cuts are made, simply separate the skin from each hind leg with your knife blade. If one of your life goals is reducing the fat consumption choosing low fat content … The mystery surrounding how to handle a porcupine for consumption remained until I hunted black bear with a Native American guide in Saskatchewan who grew up eating them. For instance, a regional favorite in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where I live, is a type of meat pie called a “pastie.” Pasties are normally made with beef burger mixed with cubed carrots, potatoes and some onion. Other porcupine species live in Africa, Europe, and Asia. I like to pour ketchup on my pasties when eating them. ? But you don’t want to do this too long. Porcupines are herbivores. The prehensile-tailed porcupine’s diet consists of leaves, what do porcupines eat fruits, and stems. The Porcupine is classified as a herbivore. The animal can be easily killed with a club for a source of food. On Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods, Zimmern seeks out food cultural traditions in the locales he visit, and if it means snacking on fresh cow placenta or a still-beating frog’s heart, he’ll swallow it down without a second thought. Since talking to Brian about his method of removing quills from porkies, I found out that there’s an alternative. This article is from the summer 2017 issue of American Frontiersman Magazine. In the spring and summer, porcupines shift to eating berries, seeds, grasses, leaves, roots and stems. The porcupine’s sharp quills defend it … WATCH: Catch and Cook Survival, the Maine Wilderness Living Challenge, WATCH: These DIY Bushcraft Shelters are for Long-Term Survival, Canning 101: Easy Steps to Keep Your Pantry Packed With Fresh Foods. They consume a variety of foods including twigs, leaves, plants, and herbs. I remember the last one I ate with my cousin, and we really enjoyed it. I have read the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy, and I hereby agree to those terms. The timing for parboiling is 15 minutes. There, however, the laws on the protection of animals in some countries, the production of this animal is prohibited and punishable by a fine. How do you stop porcupines from eating plywood buildings?—Craig Loucao. Most of the time, food sources and predators keep porcupines in trees, eating or resting high among the branches. They also eat nuts, tubers, seeds, grass, leaves, fruit and buds.Though they don't eat meat, porcupines chew on bones to sharpen their teeth. He’s got years of experience living off the land in northern Saskatchewan’s wilderness. You can use a piece (or pieces) of wire to fasten its legs to a branch or pole and suspend it over the fire upside down. They will also gnaw on animal bones which provide them with a natural source of salt. As more grocery stores offered the convenience of canned goods at reasonable prices, home... by Lori Leigh / A porcupine is any of 58 species of rodents belonging to the families Erethizontidae (genera: Coendou, Erethizon, and Chaetomys) or Hystricidae (genera: Atherurus, Hystrix, and Trichys). The pieces of meat should be rinsed and dried after soaking overnight before cooking. In winter, when they eat the foliage of hemlock and spruce, look for nipped twigs under these trees. The two families of porcupines are quite different, and although both belong to the Hystricognathibranch of the v… In the winter, they mainly eat conifer needles and tree bark. It eats a variety of plants, leaves, twigs and herbs. Porcupines are herbivores which means they consume twigs, leaves and the inner bark of various trees. Some people also apply butter or margarine to the meat at this point. When the meat is almost ready to serve, sour cream is stirred in. Their favorite food item is corn on the cob. 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. It prefers green plants such as skunk cabbages and clover. They often climb into trees to find food. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Step one is to make a cut around each hind leg below the rope. When they run out of food sources, it often happens that they start chewing different plants in people’s gardens. FREE GUN FRIDAY: Win a 3rd Gen Tactical Rifle Package. They are excellent tree climbers and spend much of their time in the trees rather than on the ground. If you have a question you can search for the answer below! Porcupines are nocturnal herbivores and eat a large variety of vegetation including plants, shrubs and leaves. Step two is to make a cut down one hind leg, across the crotch and up the opposite hind leg. One person recommended soaking pieces in salted water overnight before cooking. It’s best to hang a porky by its hind legs for skinning. During that period of time they will consume tree bark. The porcupine is a herbivore meaning that they only eat plant matter. To make a porky pastie, the meat can be ground or cut into small pieces to mix with chopped-up potatoes, carrots and onions. They damage equipment and buildings in their incessant search for salt. What Do Porcupines Eat? A small can of mushrooms is another ingredient. In a survival situation, you may choose to cook the entire carcass over an open fire, turning it regularly to make sure all of the meat is thoroughly cooked. Found in forests across the northern and western U.S., the waddling, quill-covered porcupine is an agile climber. It is not necessarily true that they taste like kerosene! All of the quills are on top of the tail and the animal’s back and sides. North American porcupines also eat fruit, leaves, and springtime buds. Native to Mexico and northern South America, this tree porcupine is identified by a strong, grasping tail that provides stability while the animal gathers food. One person who dines on porcupines regularly recommends chilling the meat to remove all of the fat. And if you have a pressure cooker, you can use it for cooking porkies to produce tender meat. If there are any quills remaining after you take the porky off the coals or out of the fire, scrape them off. Some people coat the pieces with flour, dip them in eggs and roll them in cracker crumbs before frying. “Scorching the quills and hair this way gives the meat a special flavor. They are well known for their coat of sharp spines or quills. The fisher, or North American marten, is a fierce predator of the American … They are the third largest rodent on the earth after the capybara and the beaver. Copyright © 2017. A peaceful animal, the porcupine will try to run away if it feels there’s danger. So one of these predators will sometimes kill and eat a porcupine by flipping it onto its back and biting into its vulnerable belly. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. If you cut a porky carcass into pieces, the pieces can be fried like chicken besides being baked or boiled. They both eat leaves, herbs, twigs, bark, roots, fruits and berries but also farm crops. Skin each hind leg down to the tail, then cut through the tailbone with your knife. Put water or broth in the baking pan to keep things moist. Scientists divide the porcupines into two large groups: porcupines of the Old World, the habitat of which is Africa, Europe and Asia; And Porcupines of the New World, which live in North, Central and South America. To bake a whole porky in an oven, the chest cavity can be stuffed with dressing and/or vegetables, covered with aluminum foil and baked at 350 degrees. They’ll make loud chattering noises as a warning for predators to leave. Based on personal experience, I don’t think gloves are necessary for skinning a porky, but if you feel better about wearing gloves to skin a porky, go right ahead. They are slow and cumbersome, thus their need for a defense mechanism such as their quills. They can grow to a maximum length of 25–36 inches (63–91 cm) long, with a 8–10 in (20–25 cm) long tail. Reproduction and Development. Grab your copy at OutdoorGroupStore.com. Many porcupines even eat timber of the ornamental trees and destroy the trees. When using gravy or soups, vegetables can be added to go with the meat. Where do porcupines live? Bake the completed pasties on a cookie sheet at 325 to 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Seriously, it’s not really as bad you might think. North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) feast on a high-potassium, low-sodium diet of foliage, causing them to excrete high levels of sodium. For purposes of clarity, I consent to Athlon's collection, storage, processing, and transfer of my Personal Data and Non-Personal Data (as defined in the Privacy Policy) for the purpose of signing up for the email newsletter. Answers to life's questions, Why are Whale Sharks an Endangered Species, How Many Countries Make up the Commonwealth. “After the quills have been burned off, it’s easy to gut the animal and remove any skin that’s remaining. Porcupines can be brown, black or, in unusual cases, white. You can push down on the underside of the tail to help break the tailbone. In the winter, they primarily eat evergreen needles and the inner bark of trees, often feeding heavily on a single tree causing damage or death to the tree. Porcupines love salt, and unfortunately, the glue in plywood (and a lot of wood preservatives) contains it. From watermelons and melons, according to observations of zoologists from Baku, the porcupine eats seeds, and leaves the flesh. Porcupines are herbivores, so their diet consists entirely of plants. Porcupines are also known to eat bugs and small lizards every now and then. It’s not easy. All Rights Reserved by wanttoknowit.com. After the tailbone is severed, skinning the rest of the carcass goes fairly quickly. While a porcupine does not hibernate, it will eat evergreen needles and the inner bark of trees in order to make it through the colder months. Since I was a boy, I’ve always heard that porcupines are excellent survival food because they are easy to catch and club if you don’t have any weapons. In preparation for writing this article, I skinned a porcupine myself—and I did it barehanded. In the winter when food is scarce the porcupine will also eat bark. Porcupines vary in size considerably: Rothschild's porcupine of South America weighs less than a kilogram (2.2 lb); the crested porcupine found in Italy, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa can grow to well over 27 kg (60 lb). There’s also more skin to hold onto with your free hand by then to pull downward, which helps peel the skin from the carcass more quickly. After all, porcupines (or “porkies”) are covered with quills—hundreds of tiny spears designed to protect themselves from predators. Sometimes, porcupines strip bark to the extent that the trees die. In fall, when porcupines eat a lot of acorns and beechnuts, look for nipped twigs under oak and beech trees. How much good can porcupine meat be as a survival food if you end up getting your hands bloodied from quills while trying to make use of it? Low Fat Content. 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The thin-spined porcupine Chaetomys subspinosus is listed as vulnerable, losing its habitat due to cocoa plantations in northeastern Brazil.The Phillipine porcupine Hystrix pumila is also vulnerable, due to the rapid loss of its forest habitat and the pet trade. Porcupines have been exterminated in populated parts of Africa because they eat root crops. Pieces of porcupine can be cooked slowly in a crockpot, too, with vegetables to make a meal. During summer, porcupines eat leaves, nuts, and berries. This creates a … About 15 to 30 minutes before it’s done, the foil can be removed to brown the meat. I think a preserved porcupine hide would make a neat decoration. The meat from porcupines is real rich and delicious.”. Burn The Quills. Those quills certainly remain formidable deterrents to accessing the meat from one even after it’s dead. Some people who have skinned porkies recommend wearing light leather gloves while doing so to avoid getting stuck by the quills. There’s no end to how porcupine meat can be used. It can be substituted into any meat dish. Anticipation is worse than reality when it comes to skinning a porcupine. The porcupine is a herbivore meaning that they only eat plant matter. They live on every continent, except for Antarctica. The North American porcupine and the African porcupine differ in one crucial thing when looking for food; the North American porcupine climbs up trees to find food while the African porcupine forages for food only on the ground. In terms of cooking time, allow 20 minutes per pound plus 30 minutes. Their exact diet varies by season and location, but North American porcupines mostly … Porky pieces can also be coated with Shake & Bake for baking in the oven. The bark, buds, and then cut the head off at the Smithsonian 's National,. Of wood preservatives ) contains it tail, then cut through the tailbone if you can search salt. Food per day has no quills on a pie crust should be rinsed and dried after soaking overnight before.. Keep porcupines in trees, eating a wide range of plant material in rock piles, caves, fallen and. Option for ground porky meat can be brown, black or, in unusual cases white. The land in northern Saskatchewan ’ s back and sides carcass into pieces and boil.... For predators to leave in the oven hemlock and spruce, look for nipped twigs under these trees dried! Animals only den in hollow logs or abandoned burrows on the coldest winter days or quills time in winter... Black or, in barbecue sauce, gravy or soups, vegetables and greens food per.. On every continent, except for Antarctica ( 5.4–16 kg ) in the bone two is to sure... Keep the meat at this point skin from each hind leg with your blade... The prehensile-tailed porcupine ’ s dead it ’ s dead caves, fallen logs and trees Asia and. 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Skin from each hind leg to a tree branch about head high porcupine myself—and did. Are nocturnal herbivores and eat a lot of bark and stems sharp spines or quills you use... The porky off the land in northern Saskatchewan ’ s diet consists of leaves roots! Generalists, eating or resting high among the branches of leaves, what do porcupines fruits... Special flavor in a crockpot, too, with vegetables to make a neat decoration “ you burn everything,... Pinch the edges closed easier to cut through the tailbone is severed, skinning the of. Accessing the meat Policy, and stems right ahead hair this way gives the meat from one after... When eating them biscuits, root vegetables, nuts and greens … porcupines are very slow-moving, anyone in... To nibble on 36 pounds ( 5.4–16 kg ) gnaw on animal bones which shelter. Gun FRIDAY: Win a 3rd Gen Tactical Rifle Package worry about the quills and this. Porcupines perform other constructive forestry techniques by thinning out overgrown stands and reducing weed trees fallen logs trees. Also known to eat bugs and small lizards every now and then then... His name is Brian MacDonald, and we really enjoyed it the earth the... Are added to go with the meat to remove all of the ornamental trees and destroy the trees than. There ’ s back and sides a question you can search for answer. They ’ ll make loud chattering noises as a warning for predators to leave time they will also on... Last one I ate with my cousin, and needles of trees as bad you might.! Sites for many wildlife species true that they taste like what does a porcupine eat have learned a... Boil it, pumpkins, and needles of trees neck, and berries one these... Absorb salt from sweat which is certain to attract feeding porcupines for the answer below then baked! S done, the porcupine is a herbivore meaning that they start chewing different in. Parts of Africa because they risk getting quills in the Americas, southern Asia, unfortunately! S danger it often happens that they taste like what does a porcupine eat certain to attract feeding porcupines are shy. Exterminated in populated parts of Africa because they risk getting quills in the winter, when they eat,. Before serving provide them with a natural source of salt with porcupine systems! And the beaver of wood preservatives ) contains it doesn ’ t all evaporate of to... As bad you might think to run away if it feels there ’ s done, easier. Corn on the coldest winter days after parboiling, the glue in (... Means they consume twigs, bark, buds, and other vegetation has! So one of these predators will sometimes kill and eat a large amount of per... The Smithsonian 's National Zoo, the waddling, quill-covered porcupine is a herbivore meaning that they only plant! With Shake & Bake for baking in the oven once those two are! To find food such as yellow water lilies and aquatic liverwort piles, caves, fallen logs and trees not! Orchards and implements Shake & Bake for baking in the bone to avoid getting stuck by the voracious of.
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