Porcupine
Saw this fellow feeding on some still green tinged grass, exposed by recent warm weather.
Odd thing, this patch of snow was near the top of Elk Mountain! Last year, a muskrat spent several weeks wintering just a few feet from where this porcupine was spotted.
Though sickness could have brought him out amongst people in the daylight, it is not unusual to see many different critters high on The Hill.
Sick or not, we gave this guy a wide berth as he enjoyed some rare late December sun rays, filling his belly with a taste of summer.
I’ve had multiple run-ins with porcupines over the years (or i should say, my DOGS have had run-ins; 14 times in all) and they are daytime travelers. Being so well-protected, they amble along at a slow pace and don’t seem to show any particular interest in who might be around. It must be in their DNA to know that nobody is going to mess with them, so they have nothing to fear!
Thank you for your writings and pictures. You capture the outdoors and write about it in a way that makes one feel they were present with you.
I thought they went into hibernation ?
So cute!