Keepers at Woburn Safari Park have been supervising the introduction of a new African crested porcupine at the Desert Springs enclosure in Animal Encounters at the popular Wildlife Park.
Ten-year-old male porcupine, Houdini, joins the Park from the Birmingham Nature Centre to be paired with Noku, Woburn’s female African crested porcupine.
It is hoped the match will prove a success and will eventually result in the breeding of porcupettes, baby porcupines.
First meetings can be a prickly practice and Houdini had a close encounter with Noku’s quills, as they disagreed over some pieces of root vegetable for dinner!
But after a spiky start, relations between the couple are getting warmer and they have been spotted enjoying each other’s company in the enclosure, alongside neighbouring meerkats and mongooses.
The porcupine breeding season is typically between August and December, so Houdini has until the end of the year to make a good impression with Noku. The gestation period for the species is around 112 days and the keepers are crossing their fingers for baby porcupettes by next summer.
“We are thrilled to welcome Houdini to the Park, and after a bit of a prickly start I am pleased to say that the pair are warming to one another and making progress," said senior keeper Sara Joy.
"This winter we will be feeding Houdini and Noku lots of root vegetables including carrots, parsnips and squash to keep them happy and healthy.
"As porcupines are rodents, their teeth never stop growing, so we will be giving the pair plenty of logs and deer antlers from the Woburn Estate, to gnaw on.”
To watch a video of Houdini and Noku click here
