The lovely Porcupine EAST ASIAN PORCUPINE (Hystrix brachyura)
Order Rodentia Often seen in mating pairs, you can sometimes hear their spines rustling, even if you cannot see them, and they leave a strong scent of hemp when they traverse a path. They feed on roots, fallen fruits, carrion, insects, and large tropical seeds. You can sometimes find scats (poo), or prints, or teeth marks where they have chewed the base of trees. These animals are often attacked by feral dogs, i.e. pets which have been abandoned or let loose after guarding building sites. When disturbed, porcupines raise their quills, ready to back towards animals that seem threatening. So, if you happen to stumble upon one, give it some space—especially if you are walking a dog. These are my camera trap images of a porcupine
SEE THEM: More and more common it seems in Hong Kong, even on the Island, along Blacks Link, Bowen Road and the Peak, but also widespread in the New Territories. Interestingly Hong Kong may have the most healthy population of this species in southern China due to wide persecution in the past. SPECIES ID: About the size of a corgi dog, lots of quills, quite unmistakable. More and more common it seems in Hong Kong, even on the Island, along Blacks Link, Bowen Road and the Peak, but also in the New Territories is the East Asian or Malayan Porcupine. These other images have been taken whilst night walking over the last year or so.
They normally feed on roots, tubers, bark, and fallen fruits. They also eat carrion, insects, and large tropical seeds. You can sometimes find scat (pooh), or prints, or teeth marks where they have chewed the base of trees.
Here a baby, shot by Adam Francis....what a great pic with superb lighting....
As Gary Ades of Kadoorie Farm Rescue Centre said in the SCMP........“A lot of animals that are being brought to us (in Kadoorie Farm) – barking deer, mongoose, leopard cats – have been attacked by feral dogs ... from all over Hong Kong but in particular the New Territories,” Ades says.“They’re quite indiscriminate and, unlike true predators, these dogs will kill an animal like a barking deer, take a few chunks out of it and just leave the rest. It’s like they smell an animal and they have a frenzy and kill it. That’s a big problem in Hong Kong and the government recognises that.”