What's the difference between a hedgehog and a porcupine?

Question

Sleepless nights! Can't understand the difference between a hedgehog and a porcupine? (Except the simple fact that they are different species...)

Answer 1

If you think there’s not much difference between a hedgehog and a porcupine, you may be surprised to find out just how different they could be.

While you won’t find hedgehogs in North or South America, you may cross paths with a porcupine. Snub-nosed and pigeon-toed, a large porcupine weighs in at a hefty 15 pounds, almost four times as heavy as an average, pointy-snouted hedgehog. A funny thing about porcupines is that they have four toes on their front feet and five toes on their back feet!

While a hedgehog has about 7,000 one-inch quills visible all over his back and head, a porcupine carries about 30,000 two-inch quills concealed under a thick coat of fur on his rump and tail. (Hedgehogs don’t really have much of a tail.)

Hedgehogs protect themselves by rolling up into a ball and their quills simply create an impenetrable barrier. Porcupines arch their backs, making the quills stand straight up. They also thrash their armored tails back and forth to hit an attacker. The porcupine quills are easily detached and when a porcupine hits a predator with its tail, the barbed tips painfully pierce the attacker’s hide. The barbs expand and force the quill points deeper and deeper into the attacker’s body. THEY DO NOT SHOOT THEIR QUILLS. This is a common misconception.

Gardeners may love hedgehogs for all the bugs and slugs they can eat, but porcupines would wreak havoc in a yard. Their vegetarian preferences are flower buds, leaves, grass, and herbs.

Porcupines don’t hibernate like hedgehogs. Instead, when winter comes they clamber into the trees and spend most of their time above the wet and cold snow. Their winter menu includes the inner bark of trees and the needles on pines and other evergreens. With their sharp teeth they even chew on the antlers that deer have shed for the salt and calcium they contain.

Baby porcupines are known as “porcupettes”. Most often, only one baby is born. It is born with quills that are about an inch long. At first they are very soft, but within a few hours they harden into defensive weapons. By the time a porcupette is only 10 days old it can climb up and down trees better than any hedgehog.

Answer 2

Hedgehog Or Porcupine

Answer 3

Generally speaking, the hegdehog is a small spiney mammal (indeed it is Britain's only spiney mammal) which belongs to the group Erinaceus europaeus.

The porcupine is a nocturnal (nighttime) animal from the rodent family, A porcupine is any of 23 species of rodent belonging to the families Erethizontidae and Hystricidae

porcupines have tails.

Answer 4

A porcupine is a herbivore with a short stubby snout and thick hair on the top of its head, legs & back. It loves to climb in trees and has long spines (up to 5 inches). Uses his tail to scare off enemies.

A hedgehog eats insects and has a long snout and thin hair on its face, and legs & none on its back. It likes to hide on the ground and has short stubby spines (half an inch). Rolls up in a ball if scared.

Both really cute!

Answer 5

Firstly before I even answer the question, to all of you who watch to much cartoons...porcupines can not shoot there spines. The spines are modified hairs. The do pull out very easily when it's embedded in a predator. This gives the animal the opportunity to get away.

Now on the question asked the easiest would be to go to the following 2 links. You will get a complete answer there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcupine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehog

Answer 6

Porcupines are much bigger and tend to have a lighter coloured spikes. Hedgehogs are small and fit into a child's hand, I know this as I picked one up when I was a child.

Answer 7

The hedgeghog spines are frimly attached and don't come off, the porcupine spines come off and remain in the attacking animals' face, nose or feet, making it more difficult for them to continue the attack .

Answer 8

A porcupine has longer quills and are able to 'shoot' them in self defence. Oh, and they are bigger than hedgehogs.

Answer 9

Usually, that is too long for me. I consider it depends on the guy and also his face though. Certain guys may pull off long hair and others can't.

Answer 10

porcupine spikes are a lot longer