Animal identifier ยท Other mammals
Erethizon dorsatum
Forests across Canada, the West, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast. Chewed bark and nipped twigs are the common sign. Pigeon-toed tracks with long claw marks, about 2.5 to 3.5 inches.
What does a north american porcupine look like?
Dark, slow, with a coat of quills. The white-tipped quills show when the animal is alarmed.
What do north american porcupine tracks look like?
Inward-turned prints with long claws and a rough, pebbled pad. In snow the trail looks like a short-legged waddle, sometimes with a tail brush.
- Pigeon-toed tracks with long claw marks, about 2.5 to 3.5 inches
- Pebbly palm pads
- A dragged tail sometimes brushes the snow
- Nipped twigs and bark strips with paired incisor marks
- Quills on the trail or in a curious dog
What does north american porcupine poop look like?
Pellet piles of woody pellets, often under a feeding tree or in a den crevice. They look like deer pellets but are more fibrous and left in the woods under a scarred tree. Do not handle droppings. Several species carry parasites that stay in the soil around a latrine.
Where you find it
Forests across Canada, the West, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast. Chewed bark and nipped twigs are the common sign. Typical places: woods. Year-round where the species lives. Tracks show best in mud, sand, and snow.
What to do next
- Watch from a distance
- Do not handle droppings
- If the animal is injured or inside a building, call a local wildlife officer
This page is a field guide, not a permit to approach wildlife. If an animal is injured, aggressive, or inside a house, call a local wildlife officer.
Animals it is confused with
- American badger identification
- North American beaver identification
- All animal identification pages
- Identify an animal from a photo, track, or description
What do porcupine tracks look like?
Pigeon-toed prints with long claws and pebbly pads. Look up: the tree will often be chewed.
What does porcupine poop look like?
A pile of fibrous pellets under a feeding tree.
How to tell a north american porcupine from similar animals
Use the track, the dropping, and the place together. One print is not enough.
- American badger. The long front claws are the mark. Low, wide, grizzled, with a white facial stripe and black cheek patches.
- North American beaver. Look for the webbed hind print and the tail drag in mud. Brown, flat scaly tail, webbed hind feet.
North American porcupine field marks
- Pigeon-toed tracks with long claw marks, about 2.5 to 3.5 inches
- Pebbly palm pads
- A dragged tail sometimes brushes the snow
- Nipped twigs and bark strips with paired incisor marks
Where the sign shows up
Forests across Canada, the West, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast. Chewed bark and nipped twigs are the common sign. Typical places: woods. Year-round where the species lives. Tracks show best in mud, sand, and snow.
Inward-turned prints with long claws and a rough, pebbled pad. In snow the trail looks like a short-legged waddle, sometimes with a tail brush. Pellet piles of woody pellets, often under a feeding tree or in a den crevice. They look like deer pellets but are more fibrous and left in the woods under a scarred tree.
Common questions
What do porcupine tracks look like?
Pigeon-toed prints with long claws and pebbly pads. Look up: the tree will often be chewed.
What does porcupine poop look like?
A pile of fibrous pellets under a feeding tree.