One of our current patients is a North-American porcupine who came to us in the spring. Although now living a happy and healthy life with us while awaiting his upcoming release, his life did not start out untroubled.
We received this little guy as an orphaned baby, at the beginning of May, after his mother had been hit and killed by a vehicle. He was admitted with a broken arm and had to undergo a procedure to set the bone.
Baby porcupines, known as porcupettes, require a huge amount of hands-on care as they develop. For this patient, this meant spending most of his time in the beginning with Calgary Wildlife’s Director of Wildlife Care and Services. A lot of time had to be dedicated to his upbringing, from frequent bottle-feedings to monitoring his injury.
Under our team's care, he grew and his injury improved. Once his arm was healed and he was fully weaned, he was introduced into an enclosure with another adult porcupine on-site.
Now he is able to enthusiastically feed himself and is becoming a better climber every day. This lucky guy will stay with us until he has reached a suitable size and developed all the skills he will need to survive in the wild.
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