8 Animals That Use Spikes and Spines as Tools
3. The North American Porcupine Has 30,000 Quills
Category: Defense
30,000 quills. That’s a scary amount of possibly painful meetings. When the North American porcupine is attacked, it swipes at its attacker with its tail. And it’s covered with up to 30,000 quills! But the porcupine goes one further. The 2.7 inch (7 cm) long quills on its tail aren’t just horribly pointy and sharp, but also have nasty barbs on them. Ouch!
4. Old World Porcupines Are Enough to Make Even Lions Cry
Category: Defense
When threatened, the African porcupine swings its tail at its attacker, which has 13.7 inch (35 cm) long quills with nasty barbs. Its attacks cause painful, festering wounds. Believe it or not, it’s not uncommon for big, powerful animals like lions to die of these wounds.
5. The hedgehog Has a Feathery Pincushion
Category: Defense
For a hedgehog, spines are like life insurance. When it rolls up into a ball, it doesn’t just protect itself from predators, but also falls. But hedgehogs don’t climb often.
- Table of Contents:
- Page 1: Pufferfish, Thorny Devil
- Page 2: Porcupine, Hedgehog
- Page 3: Stingray, Sea Urchin, Cone Snail
