These animals are either tree-climbers or ground-dwellers. The former are found in South America, though one, the CANADIAN PORCUPINE, is found in the North; the latter are European and Asiatic. In Africa they are also common. The Canadian porcupine passes nearly all its life in trees, feeding on the leaves; but it has not a prehensile tail. The COMMON PORCUPINE is abundant in Italy (where it is eaten by man), Greece, Spain, and Africa. It lives in burrows or among rocks. In India a very similar species is found. The head and shoulders of these ground-porcupines are not protected by the larger sharp spines which guard the rest of their bodies.
The tree porcupines of the forests of central America have long prehensile tails, and are very lightly built. The quills are short, the head rounded, and the appearance very different from that of the European or African species. the common porcupine of Europe and North Africa measures about 28 inches in length from the nose to the root of the tail. The head, neck, and shoulders are covered with short spines and hairs, and the shoulders and back by a crest of long spines, varying from 12 to 15 inches in length. The tail also carries spines.
