- I'm Coyote Peterson.
Do you have any idea what that is?
If not, stick around
because I'm about to tell ya'.
(dramatic music)
Costa Rica is home to many incredible animals.
However, sometimes these animals are either injured
or displaced from their homes
and can no longer live in the wild.
If they are fortunate enough to be found
by a loving human,
there's a good chance they will be
taken to the Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary.
Home to nearly 50 permanent residents
this animal safe haven is located
in the coastal town of Domincal.
And while the sanctuary's number one goal
is to rehabilitate, and release animals
back into the wild,
sometimes their disabilities won't
allow them to survive on their own.
So they find refuge and care
amongst the incredible staff
and natural rain forest setting.
Today I will be getting to spend some quality time
with one of their newest residents.
I hope you are ready
because this little creature
is unlike anything you've seen before.
So right now I'm having
a staring contest
with a Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine.
I'm totally gonna win.
Oh no, I blinked.
You beat me.
This is my little buddy named Bud.
And he is a baby tree porcupine.
And he is about as adorable as it gets.
Now, we know that I've worked with
porcupines in the past.
I think we all remember what happened last time.
Uh, I love how I get myself into these things.
Oooh, yep, there we go.
That's a handful of quills.
Oooh, yeah, a handful of quills.
This guy is also covered in quills
but what I'm not gonna do today
is get quilled by this adorable little rodent.
Now, Bud.
Let me see if I can give him some avocado.
This is his absolute favorite.
Is an arboreal species.
Which means that he sticks to the trees.
He's also nocturnal
which means that he's out at night.
And right now we're getting close to sunset
and Bud is just starting to wake up to get active.
And using this food, I obviously have his attention.
Is it good?
Are you gonna eat it?
Or am I gonna eat it?
Let's see if I take it away and try it.
Ahhhh?
- [Voiceover] Hey, save some for me,
that's my favorite food too.
- Is it your favorite food?
- [Voiceover] Oh yeah. (laughs)
- I'm sorry Bud.
You eat this so that Mark can't have any.
(laughs) Now this is
this is such a unique animal.
And Bud is a baby.
So, he will grow up to be
quite a bit bigger,
they can grow to be about five and a half pounds,
not as big as a North American porcupine.
But this is the one species of porcupine
that is very common here in Costa Rica.
Now oftentimes it's pretty difficult to present
an animal that's walking around,
but it also can be difficult to present
an animal that is just completely standing still.
We want to show you just how Bud moves
so I'm gonna borrow your dinner,
can I take this?
And let's see if we can get Bud to come out
here on this log.
Come on Bud.
Bud...
Look what Coyote has.
It's a peanut!
Ohhhh.
Peanut butter is good.
(cracks)
Eat me.
Come on Bud, eat me.
I'm gonna eat this peanut
if you aren't gonna eat it.
I think he actually wants me
to actually get the peanut out of the shell.
This is kinda like when Elliot
was trying to get E.T.
out of the forest.
Got to make a trail of
peanuts in this case.
Come on, look what I've got.
One of the most interesting features
over here,
look at that tail.
Have you ever seen a porcupine with a long
tail like that?
That is a prehensile tail
which allows this porcupine to be
up in the treetops and he can actually
wrap this around a branch
and hang upside down if he's eating food.
Oh, and now he found the peanut.
This is great, so you're getting
kind of the full look at this animal.
And it's nice working with a porcupine
of this size, it's a little easier for me
to get right up close without him
getting too scared.
And let's look at the fur, you see that?
Real dark in coloration.
This is what you'll get with this species.
And underneath these guard hairs
a bunch of quills.
Bud, do you think it would be okay
if we show everybody at home your quills?
I'm gonna take that as a yes.
All right, watch this.
Okay, I'm just gonna part this hair back
very gently.
Take a look at that, can you see in there?
- [Mark] Whoa, yeah.
- Oh yeah, do you know what those are?
Those are quills.
And as we know,
quills are nothing more than modified hairs.
But, you may be saying to yourself,
Coyote, how are you touching a porcupine
and it's not shooting its quills out at you?
Well that's a misconception because porcupines
can't actually shoot their quills.
Let's say a predator comes into the environment
it actually needs to get close to this porcupine's
rump, disturb these guard hairs.
So if I were to
put my nose in there and scare the porcupine
it would thrust its rump up in the air
and that's when you end up with a
snout full of quills.
And the bad thing about these quills
is that they have reverse barbs.
If those get into your snout, or your hand
and they dig deeper and deeper and deeper
over time.
So, what I'm not gonna do today
is get quilled by this little porcupine.
(chewing)
Oooh.
Here's another peanut.
Ahhhh?
Just kidding.
That's for you buddy.
That's amazing to watch them eat
to see how his claws and his hands
just grip that peanut.
And you think that he would just shove the whole
thing into his mouth like a squirrel,
but he's just very intricately chipping off
piece after piece.
Look at that nose.
Look at all of those whiskers.
Little sensory whiskers
you see that,
and he uses those to feel around
looking for food.
Now Bud is a permanent resident here
at the Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary.
He was hit by a car when he was
really really little
and he sustained some damages that will
no longer allow him to survive in the wild.
So he's gonna live his life here
in all sorts of comfort
including the ability to have peanuts
every single day.
Which sounds like a pretty good thing, doesn't it?
You're well taken care of here
and I can see that you're very happy
and very healthy.
It makes me feel good in my heart.
How do you feel about it?
Ah, I totally understand.
Do you want the rest of this peanut?
Here you go.
Peanuts.
Yum yum yum yum.
Every animal has its own unique being
and many of them
have incredible personalities.
I think it's fair to say that Bud
was definitely running the show.
And he is certainly one porcupine
that I will never forget.
Well, how excellent was this?
Getting to spend the evening with the
Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine.
You know something Bud?
You and I are buddies.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave.
Stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
(gentle music)
The Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary's helping to
rehabilitate new animals every single day.
The hardworking staff never takes a day off.
And to care for all of these temporary,
and permanent residents,
they need our help.
And even a little bit
can go a long ways.
If you would like to donate,
or become a part of their volunteer team,
make sure to visit their website
AlturasWildlifeSanctuary.org.
Bud was awesome.
There's no question about that.
But did you get the chance
to see me feed Cookie,
and Caramel, the team of super cute sloths?
If not, make sure to go back
and watch that episode.
And don't forget,
subscribe, to join me and the crew
on this season of Breaking Trail.
This is absolutely the coolest thing
I've ever done.
Feeding both a two toed
and a three toed sloth
at the same time.