How it works
What is inside a quill, and why would a porcupine chew a boot? These trivia questions about porcupines cover both families, the tree climbers of the Americas and the ground dwellers of Africa, Asia and Italy.
Read the full guide
Five rounds, quills first to quillwork last
Two families of porcupine sets clustered spines against single ones and asks which family climbs. Quills and defense takes the four warning displays in order. The North American porcupine covers the nearsighted animal that remembers a maze. Food, young and enemies meets the fisher and the great horned owl. Porcupines and people runs from dyed quills on leather to salt in plywood.
For a nature center or a campfire quiz
The card deals ten questions at a time. Choose an answer and it is graded on the spot, with the reason and the source article beneath. Scored round asks twenty and grades them together.
Questions and answers
Can porcupines shoot their quills?
No. Porcupines cannot launch their quills at range. Quills come loose on contact, or drop out when the animal shakes its body, and new quills grow to replace the lost ones.
How many quills does a porcupine have?
An adult North American porcupine has about 30,000. They cover all of its body except the underbelly, the face and the feet.
What do porcupines eat?
Plants. The North American porcupine eats twigs, roots, stems, fruits and leaves in summer and mainly conifer needles and tree bark in winter. Old World porcupines typically eat fruit, roots and bulbs.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 3, 2026 in one of three English Wikipedia articles, linked under the question: Porcupine, North American porcupine or Old World porcupine. Species counts and one animal's age record are left out, and nothing here is first aid.