Our Family of Five

As a kid, I watched any and every nature show possible. Anyone remember Marty Stouffer? A childhood hero. I have to admit that with all the National Geographic I watched, I don't remember anything about the courtship habits of porcupines. I won't even start with a joke here, but there are lots of possibilities. As Quinn and I stood next to the cage, one of the porcupines seemed to be very mad at the other, grunting and chasing it around the cage. "What a great photo" I thought as the porcupines came to our side of the cage. The pursuing porcupine cornered the other, then stood up and proceeded to urinate all over the other as I snapped the shot. As geometry would have it, Quinn was right in the line of fire. When we got home and out of our smoky clothes there was a certain woodsy smell that wouldn't go away until we washed Quinn's hair a few times. So that's how a male porcupine tries to romance a female. You heard it here. Never say that Porcupines aren't romantic.