The male porcupine’s courtship of a mate is elaborate, to say the least. However, it’s worth the energy expended, as 90 percent of female porcupines are impregnated each year. (Photos by Mary Holland)

Males can become quite aggressive with other males when it comes to staking a claim on a female porcupine, to the point where they use their quills on each other.

Because porcupines are one of the largest rodents in New England, you would think that seeing one would be a common occurrence. However, it isn't for most of us, mainly because porcupines are nocturnal and we're not, and also because, especially in the fall and winter, they spend a lot of their time in trees, and we tend not to look up all that frequently. In the next three months our chances of seeing one are as good as it gets, for porcupines mate in the fall, and prior to doing so, males are out and about, expanding their home range in the hope of finding a mate.

Porcupines are one of the few mammals that breed in the fall. Perhaps because of this, their elaborate courtship has been studied fairly extensively. As mentioned previously, male porcupines, at the onset of the breeding season, are travelling further afield than at other times of the year.

When a male encounters a receptive female, a form of behavior referred to as a "guarding episode" begins. Typically the female sits on a branch of a tree, and the male sits on a lower branch of the same tree, guarding his potential mate from the advances of other male porcupines. If another suitor ambles along and becomes interested in the female, he may challenge the resident male, and a vicious battle can ensue wherein the porcupines utilize every weapon available to them, including teeth, claws and quills. The guarding episode can last several days, but even so, it is only the beginning of porcupine courtship.

Once mutual interest has been established between two porcupines, a very peculiar ritual usually takes place. The excited male does a "three-legged walk" usually with the left forepaw holding onto his genitals. An alternative behavior that has been observed involves the male holding a long stick in his forepaws, and straddling and riding it while the female does the same. Yet a third scenario has the male rubbing his genitals on objects while producing a low whining sound. One would assume that any one of these behaviors would not only get the attention of the female, but convince her of her suitor's ardor. However, he has one more trick up his sleeve.

At some point during this demonstrative declaration, the male squirts high-velocity jets of urine directly at the female, thoroughly wetting her. If she's not ready to mate, she walks away; if she is ready, she presses her quills against her body, raises her hind quarters and arches her tail over her back, so that the male has a safe surface for his chest and forepaws when he mounts her. Apparently with mice, male urine accelerates estrus in the female – this could be the case with their rodent relative, the porcupine, as well.

The male's timing has to be just right for his objective to be met. This is even more difficult than it sounds, as there are a mere eight to ten hours during which the female is physically receptive. Perhaps this is why there is nothing ambiguous about the signals that the male porcupine gives the female.

The extensive courtship effort of mating porcupines is not without its reward. After a seven-month gestation, the female porcupine gives birth to one young porcupette that weighs about a pound, is fully furred, has its eyes open and has one-inch-long soft quills, which harden within an hour. In one short year and a half, it will be participating in the same behavior that brought it into the world.

Mary Holland is the author of "Naturally Curious: A Photographic Field Guide and Month-by-Month Journey Through the Fields, Woods, and Marshes of New England." She has a natural history blog which can be found at www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com.