Although quills are an excellent defense for all porcupines, there is still the chance that an inexperienced predator or other large animal will tangle with one of these prickly animals, and while getting badly stuck itself, will still damage the porcupine by trying to eat it or accidentally treading on it. The next step, therefore, is to advertise that one is prickly and dangerous, and that is what a porcupine of Borneo does. Hystrix crassispinis has a cluster of hollow quills with open ends on its tail. When the tail is shaken, they rattle, making a warning noise, and other animals learn to avoid this sound just as they must the warning of an aroused rattlesnake.
The rattling Thick-spined Porcupine
A RATTLING PORCUPINE
Although quills are an excellent defense for all porcupines, there is still the chance that an inexperienced predator or other large animal will tangle with one of these prickly animals, and while getting badly stuck itself, will still damage the porcupine by trying to eat it or accidentally treading on it. The next step, therefore, is to advertise that one is prickly and dangerous, and that is what a porcupine of Borneo does. Hystrix crassispinis has a cluster of hollow quills with open ends on its tail. When the tail is shaken, they rattle, making a warning noise, and other animals learn to avoid this sound just as they must the warning of an aroused rattlesnake.
Although quills are an excellent defense for all porcupines, there is still the chance that an inexperienced predator or other large animal will tangle with one of these prickly animals, and while getting badly stuck itself, will still damage the porcupine by trying to eat it or accidentally treading on it. The next step, therefore, is to advertise that one is prickly and dangerous, and that is what a porcupine of Borneo does. Hystrix crassispinis has a cluster of hollow quills with open ends on its tail. When the tail is shaken, they rattle, making a warning noise, and other animals learn to avoid this sound just as they must the warning of an aroused rattlesnake.
