Porcupines : The Animal Answer Guide.
Roze, Uldis.
Porcupines : The Animal Answer Guide. - 1st ed. - 1 online resource (237 pages) - The Animal Answer Guides: Q&a for the Curious Naturalist Series . - The Animal Answer Guides: Q&a for the Curious Naturalist Series .
Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 Introducing Porcupines -- What is a porcupine? -- How many kinds of porcupines are there? -- Who's who among the Old World porcupines? -- Who's who among the New World porcupines? -- Why are porcupines important? -- Why should people care about porcupines? -- What is the current classification of porcupines? -- What characterizes the major groups of porcupines? -- When did porcupines evolve? -- Why is the North American porcupine successful? -- 2 Form and Function of Porcupines -- What are the largest and smallest living porcupines? -- Can porcupines see color? -- Can porcupines swim? -- Can porcupines burrow? -- What senses are best developed in porcupines? -- How do porcupines use their tails? -- How many quills does a porcupine have? -- Do quills provide good winter insulation? -- Does a porcupine throw its quills? -- What happens when a quill strikes a predator? -- How does a porcupine minimize self-quilling? -- How long does it take to replace a lost quill? -- How did porcupine quills evolve? -- Why are a porcupine's front teeth orange? -- Do porcupines have scent glands? -- How long does it take for a porcupine to digest a meal? -- Do porcupines suffer from old-age diseases? -- 3 Porcupine Colors -- What color are porcupine quills? -- Is there a reason for coat color patterns in porcupines? -- Do porcupine colors change with age? -- How does fur color indicate that a female porcupine is lactating? -- Are albino porcupines found in nature? -- Why do porcupines glow under a black light? -- 4 Porcupine Behavior -- Are porcupines social? -- Do porcupines fight? -- Do porcupines bite? -- Do porcupines play? -- How smart are porcupines? -- How do porcupines communicate? -- Do porcupines hibernate? -- How fast can porcupines run? -- How do porcupines climb trees?. Do porcupines fall out of trees? -- How can I tell whether a tree is being used as food source by a porcupine? -- 5 Porcupine Ecology -- Which geographic regions have the most porcupine species? -- Do porcupines migrate? -- Can several porcupine species live together in the same area? -- Are there porcupines in the desert? -- How do porcupines survive the winter? -- Do porcupines get sick? -- How can you tell if a porcupine is sick? -- Are porcupines good for the environment? -- What are the important porcupine predators? -- What possible mutualists live with porcupines? -- Do porcupines compete for food with other vertebrate herbivores? -- Do porcupines undergo population cycles? -- 6 Reproduction and Development -- How do porcupines reproduce? -- Do porcupines always reproduce in the same season? -- How is a male porcupine distinguished from a female? -- How long are porcupines pregnant? -- How is a baby porcupine born? -- How many babies do porcupines have? -- What is a baby porcupine called? -- Do porcupines care for their young? -- How long do female porcupines nurse their young? -- How fast do porcupines grow? -- How can you tell the age of a porcupine? -- At what age do porcupines start breeding? -- Do female porcupines go through menopause? -- How long do porcupines live? -- How do individual porcupines differ in reproductive success? -- 7 Foods and Feeding -- What do porcupines eat? -- How do porcupines find food? -- Do porcupines scavenge? -- Do porcupines store food? -- Why do porcupines eat clay? -- How often do porcupines drink? -- 8 Porcupines and Humans -- Do porcupines make good pets? -- Should people feed porcupines? -- What should I do if I find an injured porcupine? -- What should I do if I find a diseased porcupine? -- How can I see porcupines in the wild? -- Why are so many porcupines found as roadkills?. 9 Porcupine Problems (from a human's viewpoint) -- Are some porcupines pests? -- Why do porcupines sometimes gnaw the rubber tires of cars? -- How can I keep porcupines from my cabin in the woods? -- Can there be too many porcupines in a forest? -- How can I keep porcupines away from valuable trees? -- Are porcupines dangerous to people or pets? -- Do porcupines transmit human diseases? -- Is it safe to eat porcupines? -- How can I remove quills from a pet? -- What should I do if I'm injured by a porcupine? -- Can porcupines act as invasive species? -- 10 Human Problems (from a porcupine's viewpoint) -- Are any porcupine species endangered? -- Will porcupines be affected by global warming? -- Why do people hunt and eat porcupines? -- Is there a hunting season for porcupines? -- What can I do to help porcupines? -- 11 Porcupines in Stories and Literature -- What roles do porcupines play in religion and mythology? -- Are there porcupines in fables and folk tales? -- What role do porcupines play in native cultures? -- How are porcupines featured in poetry and literature? -- What king used the porcupine in his royal seal? -- What place names feature the porcupine? -- 12 "Porcupinology" -- Who studies porcupines? -- Which species are best known? -- Which species are least known? -- How do scientists tell porcupine species apart? -- How can a researcher safely mark a porcupine for identification in the wild? -- What don't we know about porcupines? -- Appendix A: Porcupines of the World -- Appendix B: Worldwide Wildlife Rehabilitation Organizations -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Z.
Roze highlights the conservation issues that surround some porcupine species, such as the thin-spine porcupine of Brazil, which is so rare that it was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in the 1980s.
9781421407593
Porcupines-Miscellanea.
Electronic books.
QL737.R6 R76 2012
599.35/97
Porcupines : The Animal Answer Guide. - 1st ed. - 1 online resource (237 pages) - The Animal Answer Guides: Q&a for the Curious Naturalist Series . - The Animal Answer Guides: Q&a for the Curious Naturalist Series .
Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 Introducing Porcupines -- What is a porcupine? -- How many kinds of porcupines are there? -- Who's who among the Old World porcupines? -- Who's who among the New World porcupines? -- Why are porcupines important? -- Why should people care about porcupines? -- What is the current classification of porcupines? -- What characterizes the major groups of porcupines? -- When did porcupines evolve? -- Why is the North American porcupine successful? -- 2 Form and Function of Porcupines -- What are the largest and smallest living porcupines? -- Can porcupines see color? -- Can porcupines swim? -- Can porcupines burrow? -- What senses are best developed in porcupines? -- How do porcupines use their tails? -- How many quills does a porcupine have? -- Do quills provide good winter insulation? -- Does a porcupine throw its quills? -- What happens when a quill strikes a predator? -- How does a porcupine minimize self-quilling? -- How long does it take to replace a lost quill? -- How did porcupine quills evolve? -- Why are a porcupine's front teeth orange? -- Do porcupines have scent glands? -- How long does it take for a porcupine to digest a meal? -- Do porcupines suffer from old-age diseases? -- 3 Porcupine Colors -- What color are porcupine quills? -- Is there a reason for coat color patterns in porcupines? -- Do porcupine colors change with age? -- How does fur color indicate that a female porcupine is lactating? -- Are albino porcupines found in nature? -- Why do porcupines glow under a black light? -- 4 Porcupine Behavior -- Are porcupines social? -- Do porcupines fight? -- Do porcupines bite? -- Do porcupines play? -- How smart are porcupines? -- How do porcupines communicate? -- Do porcupines hibernate? -- How fast can porcupines run? -- How do porcupines climb trees?. Do porcupines fall out of trees? -- How can I tell whether a tree is being used as food source by a porcupine? -- 5 Porcupine Ecology -- Which geographic regions have the most porcupine species? -- Do porcupines migrate? -- Can several porcupine species live together in the same area? -- Are there porcupines in the desert? -- How do porcupines survive the winter? -- Do porcupines get sick? -- How can you tell if a porcupine is sick? -- Are porcupines good for the environment? -- What are the important porcupine predators? -- What possible mutualists live with porcupines? -- Do porcupines compete for food with other vertebrate herbivores? -- Do porcupines undergo population cycles? -- 6 Reproduction and Development -- How do porcupines reproduce? -- Do porcupines always reproduce in the same season? -- How is a male porcupine distinguished from a female? -- How long are porcupines pregnant? -- How is a baby porcupine born? -- How many babies do porcupines have? -- What is a baby porcupine called? -- Do porcupines care for their young? -- How long do female porcupines nurse their young? -- How fast do porcupines grow? -- How can you tell the age of a porcupine? -- At what age do porcupines start breeding? -- Do female porcupines go through menopause? -- How long do porcupines live? -- How do individual porcupines differ in reproductive success? -- 7 Foods and Feeding -- What do porcupines eat? -- How do porcupines find food? -- Do porcupines scavenge? -- Do porcupines store food? -- Why do porcupines eat clay? -- How often do porcupines drink? -- 8 Porcupines and Humans -- Do porcupines make good pets? -- Should people feed porcupines? -- What should I do if I find an injured porcupine? -- What should I do if I find a diseased porcupine? -- How can I see porcupines in the wild? -- Why are so many porcupines found as roadkills?. 9 Porcupine Problems (from a human's viewpoint) -- Are some porcupines pests? -- Why do porcupines sometimes gnaw the rubber tires of cars? -- How can I keep porcupines from my cabin in the woods? -- Can there be too many porcupines in a forest? -- How can I keep porcupines away from valuable trees? -- Are porcupines dangerous to people or pets? -- Do porcupines transmit human diseases? -- Is it safe to eat porcupines? -- How can I remove quills from a pet? -- What should I do if I'm injured by a porcupine? -- Can porcupines act as invasive species? -- 10 Human Problems (from a porcupine's viewpoint) -- Are any porcupine species endangered? -- Will porcupines be affected by global warming? -- Why do people hunt and eat porcupines? -- Is there a hunting season for porcupines? -- What can I do to help porcupines? -- 11 Porcupines in Stories and Literature -- What roles do porcupines play in religion and mythology? -- Are there porcupines in fables and folk tales? -- What role do porcupines play in native cultures? -- How are porcupines featured in poetry and literature? -- What king used the porcupine in his royal seal? -- What place names feature the porcupine? -- 12 "Porcupinology" -- Who studies porcupines? -- Which species are best known? -- Which species are least known? -- How do scientists tell porcupine species apart? -- How can a researcher safely mark a porcupine for identification in the wild? -- What don't we know about porcupines? -- Appendix A: Porcupines of the World -- Appendix B: Worldwide Wildlife Rehabilitation Organizations -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Z.
Roze highlights the conservation issues that surround some porcupine species, such as the thin-spine porcupine of Brazil, which is so rare that it was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in the 1980s.
9781421407593
Porcupines-Miscellanea.
Electronic books.
QL737.R6 R76 2012
599.35/97