Number 8 Dennis Mazur’s Dogs Mike Gerrand set up a GoFundMe page to help
pay for his dogs’ exorbitant medical bills in the aftermath of a brutal porcupine encounter.
The pets tangled with the wild animal in the small town of Craven, in Canada’s Saskatchewan
province. One of the dogs, named Nestah, was left with a muzzle full of quills, to the
extent that the face was no longer visible. Solijah got off with just a few spines embedded
in the lower jaw, similar to a prickly goatee. The most severe injuries, however, were sustained
by Mahalo, who was instantly covered in quills. The problem was that the spines had started
to migrate up her body, reaching the heart and lungs. She required extensive surgery
but ultimately joined the others in making a full recovery.
Number 7 Pierced Boa It would seem that there’s no creature that
can emerge unscathed from a confrontation with a porcupine. Such was the case of a boa
constrictor caught on video in Brazil. The user who uploaded the footage discovered the
snake after their dog had started barking at it. The boa was covered in dozens of white
spines after it presumably had tried constricting a porcupine. Once the rodent employed its
defensive quills, the serpent was forced to slither away in pain. Even so, the boa still
managed to coil into a defensive position to defend against the barking dog. No follow-up
reports were released but, unless a veterinarian treated the snake, it’s highly unlikely
it survived. What Is It?
Porcupines are rodents from two families that together consist of roughly 58 species. The
Old World porcupines, or Hystricidae, are different from New World porcupines, also
known as the Erethizontidae, and the two aren’t closely related. Cape porcupines, from the
former family, can grow to be well over 60 pounds, meaning they’re on par with Dalmatians
or other medium-sized dogs. The Bahia hairy dwarf porcupine, from South America, is the
smallest and may weigh 2.2 pounds, which is less than half the weight of a Chihuahua.
Across the two families, porcupines are generally stout animals with blunt, rounded heads and
mobile snouts. They occur in various shades of white, brown and grey. Like all rodents,
porcupines have powerful gnawing incisors and no canine teeth. The coat of quills, arguably
the porcupine’s best-known feature, is a formidable defensive weapon. These spines
are actually modified hairs which are coated with thick plates of keratin and embedded
in the porcupine’s skin musculature. The animal can use these spines to cause major
injuries and even death to its predators. While humans themselves can also get horribly
wounded by the quills, the greatest threat that porcupines pose is to their pets.
Number 6 Unnamed Brazilian Man An unnamed tourist was taken to a hospital
in Brazil’s São Paulo state after his right hand was covered in porcupine quills. The
34-year-old male had spotted the rodent in the woods near his vacation house. Not knowing
anything about the slow-moving animal, the man attempted to catch it. As he pressed his
hand against its body, the porcupine attacked and its piercing spines got stuck in the man’s
hand. He arrived at the hospital with pain and psychomotor agitation. Anesthesia was
administered and the quills were extracted. He was prescribed cephalosporin and told to
frequently wash the area with soap and water. After 10 days, his wounds were completely
healed. Where Is It Located?
Old World porcupines are heavily-built terrestrial rodents found in southern Europe and the Levant
as well as most of Africa, India and Oceanic Southeast Asia. They’re mostly herbivorous,
feeding on roots, fruits and bulbs. Some species have been observed gnawing on dry bones, possibly
as a way of acquiring calcium. New World porcupines are, much like their name would suggest, primarily
found in North and South America. They generally inhabit wooded areas. They’re known to often
climb trees for food and some species are exclusively arboreal. They’ll feed on herbs,
twigs, leaves and clover or other green plants. Aside from the manner in which they interact
with their habitats, New World and Old World porcupines differ anatomically. The former
are distinguished by rooted molars, complete collarbones and entire, not cleft, upper lips.
Their quills are mixed with hairs while Old World porcupines have their quills in clusters
that don’t intermingle with regular hair. Number 5 Ruckus
Ruckus, a Saint Bernard from New York, had a history of trying to befriend porcupines
as well as a tendency of not learning from his mistakes. The massive dog’s escapade
in July of 2018 left his muzzle covered in spines. Some of the quills punctured his face
and jowls while others had actually made their way inside the dog’s mouth. It wasn’t
the first time that the pet had ended up at the Lollypop Farm animal shelter. Fortunately,
as with previous occurrences, doctors were successful in removing the quills and thus
guided Ruckus towards a clean bill of health. Number 4 Bella Mae
In 2012, Bella Mae, a 3-year-old bulldog from Oklahoma, became unrecognizable after a gruesome
porcupine encounter. Owners Jerry and Allison Noles noted that the dog had been playing
with their other pets near a pond on their property. At some point she got too close
to a porcupine and the creature attacked. The couple believes that the wild animal had
visited their pond due to a dry season and scarcity of water sources in Oklahoma. In
the aftermath of the attack, Bella Mae’s face, neck, chest and paws were riddled with
over 500 quills. One of the operating veterinarians at the Animal Emergency Center claimed it
was the worst porcupine attack he’d ever seen. Fortunately, doctors were successful
in removing all of the visible quills. However, Bella Mae was kept on antibiotics and under
observation as they suspected other spines could’ve remained trapped inside her body.
How Will It Kill You? Porcupine defensive behavior involves erecting
the quills and using their tails as spiked clubs or pressing their backs against attackers.
Because they’re extremely sharp, these spines can easily impale tissue and end up in sensitive
or vital organs. The quills may grow to be a foot or longer and become detached without
causing any pain to the porcupine. Additionally, they have microscopic barbs that anchor them
inside the tissue, making removal a very painful procedure. Through pressure, they migrate
deeper within the tissue and may cause potentially deadly infection. Pets, mainly dogs, are at
a greater of risk of getting attacked because of their curious nature. It’s not uncommon
for them to get numerous quills simultaneously stuck in their heads. When it comes to humans,
even if they don’t outright kill you, a porcupine attack may leave you very vulnerable.
If struck in the eyes, for example, you may be blinded and forced to helplessly navigate
the wilderness. Number 3 Sandra Nabucco
While pets are the most common victims of porcupine attacks, every so often, humans
will also suffer a vicious quill stab. Such was the case of Sandra Nabucco, from Rio de
Janeiro. The 52-year-old woman was walking her dog and passed a lamp post when a porcupine
dropped from above. It was definitely an odd occurrence and most likely a slip up as the
rodents aren’t known to ambush people from tree branches. The incident left Nabucco with
roughly 270 quills embedded in her scalp. When describing the incident, the woman mentioned
that “the pain was enormous”. She believed that if the porcupine had dropped on a child
or an elderly person, they could have died. Nabucco wasted no time in getting to a hospital
where doctors removed the quills from her head and gave her antibiotics to prevent infection.
Interestingly enough, the porcupine was said to have survived the encounter.
Number 2 Porcupines and Man-Eating Felines Even though porcupines aren’t known to kill
humans directly, they may inadvertently contribute to fatalities. Scientists have found a connection
between porcupine-related injuries sustained by felines and their tendency of later becoming
man-eaters. The Cape porcupine, found in Africa, is the largest of all porcupine species and
it will hold its own against one or even multiple lions. Records of these felines being injured
by porcupines go back hundreds of years. In the mid-1600s, an official for the Dutch East
Company in Cape Town wrote that the wounds made it harder for lions to hunt or consume
their regular prey which is why they sometimes turned to cattle or even humans. In recent
years, a team of researchers studied the skulls of a pair of man-eating lions. CT scans revealed
that one had been struck through the nose by a 9-inch quill while another had an inch-long
segment embedded in the nerve of a broken canine tooth. As such, one predator would’ve
been left unable to smell regular prey while the other could no longer properly chew through
dense, fibrous meats. In light of these injuries, the pair started hunting humans.
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How to Survive? For a long time it was believed that porcupines
can launch their quills at potential threats. It would make for a redoubtable defensive
technique but this has been disproven. The quills may, however, become detached and penetrate
deeper into the victim’s body. Porcupines are slow creatures and should be easy enough
to avoid, which you should absolutely do if you spot one. Porcupines have several ways
of telling you they feel threatened or annoyed. They’ll raise their quills and shiver while
also clattering their teeth. If these deterrents fail, they’ll release an invasive smell
produced from the skin above their tail. If you or your pet end up with quills embedded
in the skin, don’t try removing the spines yourself and always contact a medical specialist.
If the quills break or are cut off they’re much harder to retrieve. As they start migrating
through the body, the risk of infection increases. Get your pet to a veterinarian as soon as
possible while also limiting its movement and attempts to paw
at the quills.
Number 1 Odin While on a mission, a K-9 unit, named Odin,
was left with over 200 porcupine quills embedded in his muzzle. Two of them were dangerously
close to his left eye. Odin was chasing a felon at the time and, unfortunately, crossed
paths with an enraged porcupine. The search for the suspect was suspended in light of
Odin’s injuries and he was immediately rushed to a vet. He was treated for over two hours
to remove the spines which had bloodied his muzzle. The attack had taken place in the
Barview area of Tillamook County, Oregon. According to subsequent reports from Odin’s
handlers, the K-9 unit rehabilitation was successful and he was expected to return to
active duty. Thanks for watching! Would you rather lie
naked on a bed of porcupine quills or take a kangaroo kick to the stomach? Let us know
in the comments section below!