So there I was walking to the bank on the last day of the year, I had opened a new Bank account on the 17th but I may as well not have because I've not been able to use the damned account to start with, plus I opened the account with some money that is now inaccessible.
"Why would I have to go to the bank bank over and over for just one purpose"? I wondered angrily while I walked down to the bank which was just two streets away.
I was going to give them a piece of my mind that afternoon.
The Bank was now in sight when I saw some northern peddlers quite a distance ahead carrying a strange looking animal in a wheelbarrow that had a cage fixed on it.
At first glance, from afar I concluded it had to be a porcupine judging from the very distinct spikes I could see from about 20 meters away at first.
but how could that be?
I've lived in Bayelsa state all my life and even though I've never hunted or kept livestock, I am quite sure that these species are not indigenous to this land.
One lady called it a skunk while one of the men who had it called it a "tolo-tolo" which totally cracked me up cuz tolo-tolo is the common name for Turkey in Nigeria. The dude had no idea what it was.
Of course I wasn't surprised cuz like I said, we don't have porcupines in the wild in Bayelsa.
It makes more sense that they were gotten from the north over 1000km away where there are many hills and rocks- their preferred natural environment.
Seeing a porcupine for the first time immediate ignited an interest in them. Here are some interesting facts I found after some light research.
Behaviors
They love to set up homes in burrows
These large rodents modify natural shelters among roots and rocks, inhabit holes made by other animals, or dig their own hideaways. These burrows are most commonly occupied in family units.
Diet
They are not strict vegetarians
They have a primary diet of roots, tubers, bark, and fallen fruit along with a fondness for cultivated root crops such as cassava, potatoes, and carrots. Sometimes, they will even take carrion back to the burrow to nibble on.
Social life
They prefer to ride alone
They are mostly loners except in the winter where as many as 12 may live communallyand during courtship where several males compete for a female which usually ends up in a lot of pain. (a group of cohabiting porcupines is called a prickle)
Their most distinct features
Their Quills
Some people say that porcupines can shoot out their quills, but that's a myth
Porcupine quills are designed in such a way that they release upon external pressure. Because they are sharp, the can easily penetrate through the skin of their predator, but that's not all there is to it,
Porcupine quills are difficult to remove due to their design of their tip. Backward facing barbs ensure that it hurts more to pull a quill out that it does to be pricked by one.
This difficulty of removing a porcupine quills due to the barbs has inspired better designs for hypodermic needles.
Just incase you're wondering, the porcupine I saw was an African crested Porcupine.
References