New Baby Porcupine Born At Elmwood Park Zoo

NORRISTOWN, PA — For the second time in a week, the Elmwood Park Zoo is welcoming a new member to its family.

Resident porcupine Jasmine gave birth to a baby porcupette, as yet unnamed, on Friday, the zoo announced.

"It's been less than a week since we announced the birth of four baby peccaries, so we are overjoyed to share the news of this latest arrival," the zoo shared.

Jasmine and her baby live in the Wetlands area of the zoo and can be visited immediately.

Once weaned, zoo staff will start to introduce the young porcupine to a diet consisting of a variety of vegetables, including sweet potato, green beans, corn, carrots, spinach, and kale, as well as a nutrient-based biscuit, peanuts, and sunflower seeds.

A porcupette weighs just less than a pound and is born with soft and bendable quills that protect the mother during the birthing process, zoo officials said. After a few days, however, the quills begin to harden with keratin—the same substance found in hair and fingernails—giving them their sharpness.

With reporting from Patch correspondent Jeff Arnold