Cuteness is getting a little poke-y this week as we celebrate porcupines

Happy Monday, Watchers! Now, I don’t know if I previously thought of porcupines as cute, but Discord member Kehl convinced me otherwise with the YouTube channel Unhinged Menagerie. The humans behind the channel focus on sharing the “friendly woodland creatures… that show up once in a while when they feel like it, have a visit, then waddle off into the woods” that are distinctly not (nor should be) pets. Today, we’re sharing a few of their videos to see if you, too, shall join us in admiring (from afar) the cuteness of these risky rodents.

Now, it is genuinely important to note that these are wild animals. They may be cute, but they can and will injure you. Despite how absolutely sweet some of these animals behave in the videos (starting with our first video below), they are not pets.

This is Muffin. Muffin is a sweet baby (which are called porcupettes, oh my goodness) who just wants to enjoy some peanuts slowly. Muffin is one of a rotating cast of North American Porcupines that visit the channel owners at their Nova Scotian home. These porcupines are one of the largest rodents found in North America (second only to the North American Beaver) and inhabit a variety of habitats, including dense forests, tundra, grasslands, and desert shrub communities, in Canada, the northeastern and western United States, and northern Mexico.

Sound on for this one (unless little munching sounds will bother you)! Mother Spike and her baby Squeak swing by for a meal and some scintillating conversation with each other. Squeak, being baby, is going to take absolutely forever on that piece of sweet potato, but it makes for an incredibly precious watching experience.

North American Porcupines are primarily herbivores, with their diets changing seasonally based on food availability in their home territory. Winter diets tend to be evergreen needles and the inner bark of trees. According to the Smithsonian Institute, they can focus so intently on an individual tree in winter that they can cause damage or even death to that tree.

Quilbert introduces their new baby to the joy of peanuts — snack discovery happens right around timestamp 3:10. Quilbert later receives a book of baby names from an elementary class, but isn’t very interested in the naming process. Eventually, the baby is named Quillvester by the internet!

The National Park Service documents North American Porcupines as solitary animals, outside of breeding and rearing young. However, New Hampshire PBS notes that they may den with others in the winter. Their den locations vary, including “rock outcroppings, hollow trees, downed logs, tree crotches and abandoned buildings.”

Finally, it’s Unhinged Menagerie’s most viral video, where Squeak (in angry baby porcupine phase) throws a tantrum right off the deck. Luckily, the human aiding the baby has some thick gloves on, since there is definitely a quill lodged in there at the end of the transportation. But Spike’s glance over the side that really adds the comedy; as the comments section notes, it is giving big “huh, well ain’t you in a predicament” vibes.

A porcupine’s quills — the dangerous, barbed guard hairs that occur all over, except for their bellies — are actually one of three types of hair. They also have underfur that keeps them warm and dry, and other, longer guard hairs are most abundant on the tail and back. The quills are not projected or thrown, but are loosely attached, which is why they come away so easily when hooked into the target.

Now, if you leave a porcupine alone, it will continue along its way, and Unhinged Menagerie has a helpful video for identifying an angry porcupine that I recommend watching. However, if you have pets, things can get a lot more difficult, with your best friend ending up with a face full of quills after chasing down a porcupine. Should your favorite pup have a porcupine encounter, take them directly to the vet for some careful quill removal.

Remember, friends, admire from afar — the safe distance of the internet is probably the best distance for most, so consider subscribing to Unhinged Menagerie on YouTube for more quill-free content. Each porcupine has their own playlist, so if you have a favorite, check that section for a set of all their videos. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have 122 Squeak videos to watch.