Porcupine's Whiskers example essay topic

Perseverance To persist in anything undertaken. Maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty or obstacles. Steady persistence in a course of action. Activity maintained in spite of difficulties. How do porcupines survive in the wild? Perseverance By, Amanda Fisher Porcupines have a very unusual and effective way of defending themselves.

The moment they feel they are in danger, they roll their body into a ball and cover themselves completely with their quills. Rolled up this way his armor looks like a pincushion. Most animals don't want anything to do with a pincushion. Another way porcupines can defend themselves is to turn their back on their attacker, rattle their quills, grunt, and stamp their feet. If this does not work they can back into their enemy, quills first and stick them.

They have up to 30,000 quills. Porcupines have three kinds of hair. The first is an inner layer of thick underfur. The second kind is long shiny guard hairs, which keep out rain and helps with camouflage. The third kind is the quills themselves.

They are actually large hardened hollow hairs. The points of these quills are covered with tiny barbs or hooks. The barbs are flat on the quill when going into flesh. The tiny barbs open up when the quill is pulled out. Ouch! The porcupine has poor eyesight.

Its sense of smell and hearing are well developed. It needs these to find and catch food. The porcupine walks with its nose to the ground sniffing for food. It has whiskers that grow out from the sides of its snout and cheeks much like a cat's whiskers. The porcupine's whiskers are sensitive feelers and help it find food to survive. Porcupines are mammals, with short legs and heavy bodies.

They are slow and awkward moving rodents. They kind of waddle when they walk. They like to sleep during the day and hunt at night. Porcupines rest in trees, caves, rocks, and under wood, during the day. Adult porcupines weigh 10 to 30 pounds. They are about 25 to 30 inches long.

They have strong jaws and long, sharp front teeth for gnawing. As soon as the teeth wear down, new teeth grow again. The outer part of the teeth has a tough orange colored protective covering. They have large flat feet and long claws to give them a good grip when climbing. The porcupine eats insects, worms, snails, frogs, lizards, snakes, mice, and fruit. Their favorite foods are tree bark and branches.

The porcupines' enemies include the fox, badger, some birds of prey, bobcats, mountain lions, and man. Porcupines live in most parts of North America. Porcupines are very interesting animals. They have persevered by surviving in the wild.

Bibliography

Dal mais, Anne Marie. The Porcupine. Windermere: Rourke Enterprises, Inc., 1983.
Dingwall, Lima. Nature's Children. Danbury: Grolier Limited, 1986.
Parsons, Alexandra. Amazing Mammals. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1990.