Milwaukee Zoo's New Porcupine Baby Born In March Becoming More Active

MILWAUKEE, WI — The Milwaukee County Zoo welcomed the birth of a new prehensile-tailed porcupine on March 27, the zoo announced Wednesday.

Born to Quinn in the small mammals building, the porcupette is just a few weeks old at this point. The Zoo performed an ultrasound on mother Quinn in January, where they spotted the baby porcupine's heartbeat.

The zoo reports the baby is becoming more adventurous and active quickly. Weighing 466 grams at birth, it weighed in at 708 grams when it was 11 days old. It's getting better every day at navigating its habitat and climbing branches as it gains coordination with its tail and feet.

You may notice the porcupette looking quite red. That's because they're born with quills covered in red fur, but as it ages the porcupine will lose its red fur to reveal its quills; although, some of the fur will stay on the porcupine's belly in adulthood.

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The Zoo obtained the new porcupette's mother, Quinn, when she was 9-months-old in 2019. She was very shy at first, but has adjusted well into being a very active and inquisitive porcupine who lives with armadillos. Mother Quinn can often be spotted climbing trees in her exhibit.

The new baby, whose gender has not yet been determined, is the second porcupine baby from Quinn and father Seamus. Their firstborn, Bristle, was born in May of 2021. Bristle moved to Des Moines, Iowa, recently.

Quinn had some trouble nursing her first child at first, but this time around she's taken to motherhood more easily, the Zoo says. She's been able to care for the new porcupette without any help from zookeepers, and began grooming it and nursing it quickly.

The creatures are nocturnal and spend most of their time active during the night-side of the Small Mammals building at the Zoo.