THE INDIAN CRESTED PORCUPINE

The Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica), or Indian porcupine, is a large species of hystricomorph rodent (order Rodentia) belonging to the Old World porcupine family, Hystricidae.^[1] It is native to southern Asia and the Middle East.^[1]

 

Description

The Indian crested porcupine is a large rodent, weighing 11–18 kg.^[2] Their body (from the nose to the base of the tail) measures between 70–90 cm, with the tail adding an additional 8–10 cm.^[3] The lifespan of wild Indian crested porcupines is unknown, but the oldest known captive individual was a female that lived to be 27.1 years old.^[2]
It is covered in multiple layers of modified hair called quills, with longer, thinner quills covering a layer of shorter, thicker ones.^[2] The quills are brown or black with alternating white and black bands.^[4] They are made of keratin and are relatively flexible.^[4] Each quill is connected to a muscle at its base, allowing the porcupine to raise its quills when it feels threatened.^[4] The longest quills are located on the neck and shoulder, where the quills form a "skirt" around the animal.^[4] These quills can grow up to 51 cm (20 in) long,^[4] with most measuring between 15–30 cm.^[5] Smaller (20 cm) and more rigid quills are packed densely on the back and rump.^[4] These smaller quills are used to stab at potential threats.^[4] The base of the tail contains shorter quills that appear white in color, with longer, hollow quills that the porcupine can rattle to produce a warning sound when threatened.^[6] Contrary to popular belief, Indian crested porcupines (like all porcupines) cannot shoot their quills.^[4]
The Indian crested porcupine has a stocky build with a low surface area to volume ratio, which aids in heat conservation.^[7] It has broad feet with long claws used for burrowing.^[2] Like all porcupines, the Indian crested porcupine has a good sense of smell and sharp, chisel-like incisors.^[4]

Distribution and habitat

Indian crested porcupine on a rocky hillside

Indian crested porcupines are found throughout southwest and central Asia,^[2] including Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Yemen.^[1] Due to their flexible environmental tolerances, Indian crested porcupines occupy a broad range of habitats.^[1] They prefer rocky hillsides,^[2] but are also common in tropical and temperate shrublands, grasslands, forests, plantations, and gardens.^[1] Their range seems to be limited by seasonal densities of forage and the availability of suitable substrates for digging burrows.^[8] More specifically, the northern range of the Indian crested porcupine is limited by minimum summer night duration: they do not occur above latitudes where minimum night duration is less than 7 hours, presumably because of the amount of foraging time required to meet their dietary needs.^[9]
In 2018, a porcupine was spotted at Wadi Wurayah in the United Arab Emirates.^[10][11]

Diet

A captive H. indica eating plant material

Indian crested porcupines have a very broad and mostly herbivorous diet.^[2] They consume a variety of natural and agricultural plant material, including roots, bulbs, fruits, grains, drupe and tubers, along with insects and small vertebrates.^{[2][3][12][13]} Because they are cecal digesters, they are able to exploit low quality forage.^[14] They have also been known to chew on bones to acquire minerals, such as calcium, that aid in quill growth.^[3][5] Their capability to form substantial fat reserves is a useful adaptation for living in seasonally fluctuating habitats.^[7]
These porcupines can act as substantial habitat modifiers when excavating for tubers.^[15][16] They are also considered serious agricultural pests in many parts of their range due to their taste for agricultural crops.^[9][17] For these reasons, they are often regarded as a nuisance.^[1]

Behavior

Like other Old World porcupines, the Indian crested porcupine is nocturnal.^[2] Both adults and weaned juveniles spend an average of 7 hours foraging every night.^[9][18][19] They tend to avoid moonlight in the winter months, which could be a strategy to evade predation.^[18] However, during summer months they do not avoid moonlight (likely because there are less dark hours during which to forage), but instead tend to stay closer to their dens.^[18] During the day, they remain in their dens,^[19][20] but throughout the winter, they occasionally emerge from their dens during daylight hours to bask in the sun.^[7]
The Indian crested porcupine is semifossorial.^[2] They live in natural caves or in excavated burrows.^[19][20] Because they do not climb or jump well, they spend most of their lives on or under the ground.^[4] However, they are good swimmers.^[4]
Predators of the Indian crested porcupine include large cats,^[21][22] caracals, wolves, striped hyenas, Asian wild dogs, Saltwater crocodiles ^[23] and humans.^[18] When excited or scared, a porcupine stands its quills up to appear larger.^[4] It can also rattle the hollow quills at the base of its tail, stomp its feet, growl, grunt, or charge backward into the threat.^[4]

Reproduction

Indian crested porcupines mate in February and March.^[24] Gestation lasts an average of 240 days.^[5] A female gives birth to one brood of two to four offspring per year.^[3] Young are born with open eyes and are covered in short, soft quills that harden within a few hours after birth.^[2] Young are fully weaned 13–19 weeks after birth, but remain in the den with parents and siblings until sexual maturity around 2 years of age.^[24] The Indian crested porcupine is usually monogamous, and both parents live in the den with their offspring throughout the year.^[2]

Conservation

H. indica in a trap

Due to its adaptability to a wide range of habitats and food types, the Indian crested porcupine is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern as of 2008.^[1][2] Populations are stable and not severely fragmented, and while population status varies across its range, in many places it is common enough to be considered a pest.^[1] However, as a result of urbanization, infrastructure development, and pesticide use, suitable porcupine habitat is currently declining.^[2]
The Indian crested porcupine is protected under the India Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, amended up to 2002.^[2] Nonetheless, because they are destructive to gardens and agricultural crops, porcupines are widely hunted.^[5][25] A large trade of these porcupines exists for consumption and medicinal use.^[2] Despite being considered a pest, Indian crested porcupines play an important role in spreading seeds and pollen.^[2]