The porcupine is one of the most interesting and unusual wildlife species in Minnesota. There is no bag limit on porcupines. Porcupines make nests out of trees and can make quick work of a garden – eating various fruits and vegetables. Marc suggested we call our Irish friend who is a retired vet. Porcupines have soft hair but their backside and their tail are mixed with sharp quills making it difficult to catch them. Our state Forester just got my management plan done and said we have way to many in our woods. They are one of the dangerous species of rodents. It has always been believed that porcupines can shoot out their spines, but this is not true. This is an old video that got removed during YouTube's little hiccup last year. These animals can be found throughout northern Wisconsin and have few natural predators. While porcupines don't shoot quills, the ir spikes can puncture skin with the slightest touch. It had a porcupine quill lodged in one of its fractured teeth. For this reason, it's safest to call Critter Control for efficient wildlife removal services at the first sign of a porcupine problem. Porcupines cannot “shoot” their quills, but the quills come out quite easily on contact. Despite a very slow walking pace and a low reproductive rate, its coat of long, sharp quills enables the porcupine to live a long life by protecting it from predators. She immediately grasped that we sought advice how to kill the porcupine and the best, yet not helpful advice she had, was to shoot it. “The officer told investigators he was unsure whether to shoot the porcupine to end its suffering,” the report stated. Porcupine spines are of great importance in these animals' defense and attack methods. Although past 11 pm, she picked up the phone after it rang for the second time. Trapping Porcupines. Porcupines’ back, sides, and tail are covered with thousands of stiff, needle-like, finely barbed hairs (quills) for defense. The North American porcupine is the only species that lives in the United States and Canada and it's the largest of all the porcupines. A porcupine can have 30,000 quills on their body. Their spines are actually modified hairs that have been hardened and covered with thick plates of keratin and embedded in the musculature over millennia of evolution.. Porcupines are rodents most famous for the full coat of quills which cover the majority of their body. Trapping porcupines is pretty simple. Shooting A Porcupine One of the options when it comes to killing a porcupine is to use a shotgun or rifle, and because porcupines are relatively slow moving it is fairly straightforward to shoot a porcupine. As soon as the quills are dry, a new-born porcupine can defend itself from some predators. Porcupines are a little awkward on the ground but they are excellent climbers, spending much of their time in trees. 4. Although porcupines are not capable of shooting their quills out of their body, as many people falsely believe, the quills still play a very important role in the porcupine's defense against potential threats. Do They Shoot Their Quills? So if you see a porcupine, better beware of this fact instead of hurting yourself. Porcupine A large rodent, porcupines are covered from head to tail with thousands of quills. The Latin name for the porcupine means "quill pig" and there are about two dozen species of porcupines. The easiest trap to use is a live animal trap. Heading up to the cabin to do some ice fishing and some porcupine hunting.