Porcupine medicine

For five or six years I volunteered at a wildlife rehab center not far from my home.   The center mainly cares for injured birds, but critters find their way there, too.  We cared for bob cats, beavers, raccoons (wild only please), skunks, deer and a porcupine.  An injured porky is a therapeutic challenge, to say the least.  This porky had a nasty, deep cut that ran almost parallel to the base of his tail.  We decided he was a male, because none of us were interested in sexing a porcupine! 

The quills on an adult porcupine's back can be four inches long. They have barbs so that when they stick into something, they stay.  Porcupines do not 'shoot' their quills at an adversary; you have to come in contact with the quills for them to attach.  Once attached, though,  they're really hard to get out.

This porcupine needed oral antibiotics to treat the infection in his cut.  Pills were out of the question, as he could detect the smallest foreign body cleverly disguised in his food.  We would find squash rinds, apple cores and a single lonely pill left behind after a meal.  Liquid antibiotics come only in what are disgusting sickly sweet fruit flavors, and usually are Maalox-pink.  This was what we had to work with.  The director and intrepid  volunteers developed a plan.  We measured out the amount of liquid antibiotic needed for a dose and put it in a large syringe.  Someone with tall rubber boots would get just behind the porcupine and gently grasp him by the sides through several thick layers of blanket.  Sitting behind the porky on a low stool, the volunteer would use leather-gloved hands and rubber-booted legs to hold him immobile through the blanket.  Another volunteer would slip the syringe in the side of his mouth, anticipating that he would turn his head away.   By following his head and expelling the medicine into his mouth, we were able to get most of it down.  A lot went on the floor and there was much grimacing and lip-licking afterward.  He didn't like the taste. 

The quills just at the base of the tail are shorter and a bit less dense.  This made it easier to clean the wound, but we always came away with many quills in our gloves.  I think the short ones were harder to get loose.  While he stayed with us, we found quills everywhere.  They were in the laundry, the leather gloves, our rubber boots, his enclosure, the kitchen, everywhere.

He was pretty sick and lethargic when he came to us, but over time the infection dried up, and he gained a pound or two. As he got stronger, he became bored with his enclosure.  We found chew marks on the lower portion of the door one morning.  He became insistent to be let out, scratching and chewing wherever he could find purchase.

Each morning, we  let him wander the center hospital area while we cleaned his enclosure.  Porcupines are slow, so we never had to wonder where he went, but we were careful to keep all outside doors closed.   Since he was chewing away the enclosure door, the director decided to just let him wander the hospital all the time.  We propped open his door and would entice him back in with food at mealtime.  Porcupines love to chew on fresh greenery, and we would scour the nearby woods for special leafy limbs to put in his enclosure. 

When the time came to release him, the director decided to release him on center property.  This is over 120 acres of woods and fields, perfect for a porky.   It is fenced and posted, and many of the former center critters live safely there.  One sunny day we tempted him outside with squash bits~ it was easy as he was ready to go.  He ambled slowly off into the woods after his meal.  We were happy to see a healthy animal leave us.  It's a great feeling to be able to give something back to the animals for all that they give us.

Each evening, the director  returns to the center to do a final check and close up.   The evening of the porcupine's release, she walked to the door and lo-and-behold, there sat porky, waiting to be let in for dinner.  She opened the door and he ambled in, making his way to his old cage area.  A meal was prepared and afterward, he seemed happy to remain.  Doors were locked and lights off.

Next morning, porky was at the door, waiting to go out.   So he became an out-patient!  For several days, the pattern repeated.  In at night, out in the morning.  We weren't sure how long this would go on, but it was great fun to see him hale and hearty. He would still warn us away, pivoting so that his all-business backside, quills flared, faced us.  We had lots of respect for that warning.

Finally, the night came when he wasn't there to ask to be let in. We weren't worried about him, as he was strong and healthy.  One of the volunteers did spot him in a tree not far from the center hospital  or month or so later.  Perched on a thick branch, he chewed meditatively on a mouthful of leaves.  We have a snapshot of him up there, a dark spot in a leafy green tree.  There's a great story behind that photo.