Blandford Nature Center has a new addition, and he’s a bit prickly.
We’re talking about a porcupine they recently took in. His name is Quillber and he’s a North American porcupine, the only kind of porcupine you’ll find in the wild in Michigan.
Quillber was found as a baby with no mom in the Mount Pleasant area, and after 24 hours the DNR took him to a rehabber that raised him until now. Since Quillber imprinted on humans, it wouldn’t be safe for him to be released into the wild, because he doesn’t have the skills to protect himself.
So the rehabber brought him toBlandford Nature Center.
“With one porcupine, it's very easy for a baby mammal to imprint and become used to people,” says Lori Lomoro, wildlife manager at Blandford Nature Center. "Even though (the rehabber) tried her best to get him to forage for food on his own and to not be friendly with people, he definitely is not afraid of people and associates people with food. And so she needed a good home for him."
If you’d like to see Quillber, he will be along the trail at Blandford Nature Center in the cage of Elsa the American mink lived in before she was moved inside because she’s getting older.
