Two very sweet but prickly African Crested Porcupines have been born at Woodlands Family Theme Park near Dartmouth. The baby porcupines, known as porcupettes, who are yet to be named were born to Mother Afryea and Father Koho on Valentines Day.

Michaela Newham Head Keeper at Woodlands Zoo-Farm said “It’s great to see the porcupettes doing so well. This is the third offspring for Afryea and Koho. The twins join their brother and sister Tandi aged 2 and Afia aged 1. Mummy and Daddy are fantastic parents but are very protective of their new babies. The little ones are quite adventurous and are having great fun exploring their new home”.

The African Crested Porcupine is the largest rodent in Africa. The gestation period for porcupines is 112 days. It lives in hilly, rocky habitats in sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and Italy. “Porcupine”comes from the Latin ‘porcus’ for pig and ‘spina’ for spine. The name was given based on their appearance, as porcupines are not related to pigs. Crested porcupines are nocturnal and in the wild spend the night foraging for food. Their wild diet consists of bark, roots and some fruit. “Their favourite treat is sweetcorn but it doesn’t last very long” said Michaela.

Guests can visit the porcupine family at Woodlands Zoo-Farm. Make sure you keep an eye on the Woodlands Facebook Page for more news and photos on the baby porcupines.