Crested Porcupine

Africa · rodents · spiky · unique

Lives across Africa and Europe. The crested porcupine makes its home in North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa. It is also the only porcupine species found naturally living wild in Europe, mostly in Italy.

One of the world's largest. These porcupines are absolutely enormous compared to most other quill-covered rodents. Only the Cape porcupine is similar in size, making the crested porcupine one of the biggest porcupines on the planet.

Wears a spiky crown. The crested porcupine gets its name from the long, impressive quills on its head and back that stick up like a punk rock hairstyle. These quills protect the animal from predators.

A true rodent. Even though porcupines seem unusual, they belong to the rodent family Hystricidae, which means they are distant cousins of mice, rats, and squirrels.