Dr. Tim Bean

You have to learn how to do it. And I think mountain lions will flip the porcupine over and then go at the stomach where there are no quills. I mean, mountain lions are like meticulous cats, so they'll also scrape off all the quills once the porcupine's dead and consume it.

You have to learn how to do it. And I think mountain lions will flip the porcupine over and then go at the stomach where there are no quills. I mean, mountain lions are like meticulous cats, so they'll also scrape off all the quills once the porcupine's dead and consume it.

You have to learn how to do it. And I think mountain lions will flip the porcupine over and then go at the stomach where there are no quills. I mean, mountain lions are like meticulous cats, so they'll also scrape off all the quills once the porcupine's dead and consume it.

Fishers are a big weasel, and they attack the face, which also doesn't have any quills until it's dead, and then they'll eat through the stomach. There's some cool papers from Wisconsin that suggest that martens, the smaller weasel, will eat baby porcupines by coming up under the snow.

Fishers are a big weasel, and they attack the face, which also doesn't have any quills until it's dead, and then they'll eat through the stomach. There's some cool papers from Wisconsin that suggest that martens, the smaller weasel, will eat baby porcupines by coming up under the snow.

Fishers are a big weasel, and they attack the face, which also doesn't have any quills until it's dead, and then they'll eat through the stomach. There's some cool papers from Wisconsin that suggest that martens, the smaller weasel, will eat baby porcupines by coming up under the snow.

They'll tunnel through the snow and somehow hear the porcupine or see a porcupine and then tunnel under and then come up and get at the stomach that way. And like other stuff like coyotes have been shown to learn how to catch porcupines and I think some other species as well, like maybe owls.

They'll tunnel through the snow and somehow hear the porcupine or see a porcupine and then tunnel under and then come up and get at the stomach that way. And like other stuff like coyotes have been shown to learn how to catch porcupines and I think some other species as well, like maybe owls.

They'll tunnel through the snow and somehow hear the porcupine or see a porcupine and then tunnel under and then come up and get at the stomach that way. And like other stuff like coyotes have been shown to learn how to catch porcupines and I think some other species as well, like maybe owls.

I think it's mostly the belly, except for fishers who are just mean like every other weasel.

I think it's mostly the belly, except for fishers who are just mean like every other weasel.

I think it's mostly the belly, except for fishers who are just mean like every other weasel.

I'm sure it varies by species. I don't know that there are a lot of studies for every species. For North American porcupines, there's 30,000 quills. That's the number that everybody uses. And I have been desperately trying to find, there's two separate papers where people have counted quills on North American porcupines, and they both came up with about 30,000.

I'm sure it varies by species. I don't know that there are a lot of studies for every species. For North American porcupines, there's 30,000 quills. That's the number that everybody uses. And I have been desperately trying to find, there's two separate papers where people have counted quills on North American porcupines, and they both came up with about 30,000.

I'm sure it varies by species. I don't know that there are a lot of studies for every species. For North American porcupines, there's 30,000 quills. That's the number that everybody uses. And I have been desperately trying to find, there's two separate papers where people have counted quills on North American porcupines, and they both came up with about 30,000.

Both of them, the introduction reads like somebody's getting punished. They did something wrong, and their advisor was like, just go count quills.

Both of them, the introduction reads like somebody's getting punished. They did something wrong, and their advisor was like, just go count quills.

Both of them, the introduction reads like somebody's getting punished. They did something wrong, and their advisor was like, just go count quills.

In terms of average, as far as I know, only two people have ever counted all 30,000. So hard to come up with a comparison.

In terms of average, as far as I know, only two people have ever counted all 30,000. So hard to come up with a comparison.