PORCUPINES OF INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA

MALAYAN PORCUPINES

Malayan porcupine

Malayan porcupines (Hystrix brachyura) are one of the largest porcupine species in Asia. Also known as East Asian porcupine and Himalayan porcupines, they live in forests and mountains and are highly adaptable, eating bugs as well vegetation and are often seen in agricultural areas. They are found in Nepal, northeast India, Bangladesh, central and southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Borneo at elevations from sea level to at least 1,300 meters. (4,265 feet). [Source: Wikipedia]

Malayan porcupines are not endangered. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies them as a species of “Least Concern”. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. Porcupines are also for meat and traditional medicines. The quills of the Malayan porcupine are used for ornamental purposes.

Malayan porcupines are large and stout-bodied rodents Their head and body length is 56 to 74 centimeters (22 and 29 inches), with a tail of about 6 to 11 centimeters (2.4 to 4.3 inches). They weigh around 10 to 18 kilograms (22 to 40 pounds). Their quills are sharp and rigid. Those on their upper body parts are rough with black with white or yellow stripes. Young have soft quills which become hard as they enter adulthood. They have short, stocky legs covered in brown hairs which have four claws on the front and five on the hind legs. Both front and hind legs have smooth soles.

Malayan porcupines forage at night and rest during the day. They may be found singly or in pairs and sometimes in small groups. They can swim and often gnaw and normally feed on roots, tubers, bark, fallen fruits and large tropical seeds such as belonging to Chisocheton cumingianus.. They also eat carrion and insects.

Malayan porcupines have a gestation period of 90 to 112 days. Umay give birth to two litters annually. Females usually give birth to a single; sometimes two. pup at a time, but delivering two pups has also been recorded. The gestation period is about 90 to 112 days. Their lifespan is up to 27 years.

Sumatran Porcupines

Sumatran porcupines (Hystrix sumatrae) are found exclusively on Sumatra, one of the main islands of Indonesia. They live in the tropical rainforests there and terrestrial animals and prefer rugged, rocky areas, making their dens in small caves, under fallen trees and stumps, between rocks, and in small burrows. Sumatran porcupines do not spend so much time in trees like North American porcupines but they can adapt to a wide variety of habitats, including agricultural areas and cleared land. [Source: Annie Farner, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Sumatran porcupines were first described under the name Thecurus sumatrae by Lyon in 1907. Later they were added to the genus Hystrix (Linneaus 1758). Today you kind find information on these animals under both Thecurus sumatrae and Hystrix sumatrae. It has been suggested that they were same species as thick-spined porcupines, a very similar species found on Borneo. but now the two are regarded as distinct based on body size and quill diameter. Sumatran porcupines are smaller in size and has much thinner quills than thick-spined porcupines. /=\

Sumatran porcupine

There are no records on the lifespan of of Sumatran porcupine in the wild. There is one report of a single individual in captivity that was alive after 13.3 years. Related species have life spans in the wild ranging from 12 to 20 years, and have been reported to live up to 27 years in captivity (Hystrix brachyura); however, nine to 15 year life spans are much more common.

Sumatran porcupines are not considered endangered. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies them as a species of “Least Concern”. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. Theire population is healthy because they have wide distribution throughout Sumatra and adapt to a wide range of habitats and foods. On Sumatra, these porcupines are hunted for meat and recreation. Their quills are used for ornamentation and talismans. Sumatran porcupines are regarded as crop pests, not only eating crops but also damaging trees by gnawing on branches, trunks, and bark to wear down their ever-growing rodent teeth.

No natural predators of Sumatran porcupines have been reported, like the result of their ability to defend themselves with their quills, cannot launched and are not poisonouse but are detachable and easily penetrate and stick into skin and can cause infections that may be fatal. They can also transmit human diseases, especially those associated with fleas and ticks. Members of the genus Hystrix can carry and transmit human diseases such as the bubonic plague and malaria.

Sumatran Porcupine Characteristics and Diet

Sumatran porcupines are relatively small. They range in weight from 3.8 to 4.6 kilograms (8.4 to 10.1 pounds), with their average weight being 4.7 kilograms (10.35 pounds). Their head and body lengthy ranges 45 to 56 centimeters (17.7 to 22 inches), with a mean of 54 centimeters. Tail length ranges from 2.5 to 19 centimeters (1 to 7.5 inches) with a mean of 10 centimeters (four inches). Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is not present: Both sexes are roughly equal in size and look similar. [Source: Annie Farner, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

The bodies of Sumatran porcupines are covered by sharp flattened quills, rattle quills, and stiff bristles. Quills and bristles can be up to 16 centimeters (6.3 inches) long and are smaller and more flexible on their cheeks, underside, and feet. Rattle quills, which do not develop until maturity, are located on the tail and have hollow tips that producing a hiss-like rattle sound when shaken. Sumatran porcupines are mostly dark brown. About of their quills and bristles are white tipped, giving them a distinctly speckled, grey appearance. They often have dirty-white patches on the underside of their neck. Sumatran porcupines do not have a crest, as found in other Asian porcupine species.

Sumatran porcupine are herbivores (eat plants or plants parts) and are also recognized as frugivores (eat fruits), granivore (eat seeds and grain) and lignivores (eat wood). Among the plant foods they eat are roots, tubers, bulbs, wood, bark, stems, seeds, grains, nuts and fruit. They also fond cultivated crops, such as sweet potatoes, bananas, peanuts, maize, sugar cane, beans, melons and mango. Sumatran porcupines forage alone at night, typically, but occasionally accompanied by one or two offspring. Individuals have been recorded traveling up to 16 kilometers in one night in their search for food, often along well developed tracks and trails.

Sumatran Porcupine Behavior and Communication

range of the Sumatran porcupine

Sumatra porcupines are terricolous (live on the ground), nocturnal (active at night), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area) and social (associates with others of its species; forms social groups). They are poor climbers but are have been described as good swimmers. They are plantigrade and typically shuffle clumsily, but are able to run at moderate speeds when pursued by predators. [Source: Annie Farner, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Sumatran porcupines live in dens under fallen trees, rocks, crevasses, or in burrows. After digging their dens, they line them with plant material. Typically, a mating pair and their immature offspring cohabitate for a single breeding season. There is no information concerning home range in Sumatran porcupine, but with but with other Asian pangolin species as few as one and as many as 29 may occupy one square kilometers. Individuals have been reported to travel up to 16 kilometers per night to forage. Although not reported for Sumatran porcupine, related porcupines defecate regularly in a particular, fixed spot in their shelter.

Sumatra porcupines sense and communicate with vision, touch, sound and chemicals usually detected by smelling. They also leave scent marks produced by special anal glands to mark their territories. Males frequently mark high quality feeding patches. When alarmed these porcupines stamp their feet, erect and rattle their quills, and raise their rears. If approached, they run backwards or sideways toward the threat, attempting to inject it with their quills. During courtship and mating and when communicating with enemies of the same or different species, they may also stamp their feet, grunt, and whine.

Sumatran Porcupine Mating, Reproduction and Offspring

There is no information on the mating system of Sumatran porcupine. Most Southeast Asia porcupines are monogamous. Among species similar to Sumatra porcupines, If the female jects the male, she repsponds aggresively. If the female accepts the advances, she raises her tail and rear and allows the male to mate with her. Both males and females can be vocal during mating, producing a variety of whines, grunts, and squeals. [Source: Annie Farner, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Most Asian porcupines have an estrus cycle of 28 to 36 days and a gestation period of 93 to 110 days. Breeding generally occurs once a year, during late winter or early spring (December through March). Among related Asian porcupines species, litter sizes are small, consisting of one or two young. Young are precocial. This means they are relatively well-developed when born. Their quills harden within a few hours after birth, and they begin to eat solid food around nine days old but continue to nurse for up to 19 weeks.

Parental care is provided by both females and males. Pre-weaning and pre-independence provisioning is done by males and females and protecting is done by males. Males aggressively defend young and their burrows. Both parents accompany young while foraging for six to seven months after birth, though males are found with young more often than females. Young porcupines reach sexual maturity between nine months and two years of age. /=\

Long-Tailed Porcupines

long-tailed porcupine

Long-tailed porcupines (Trichys fasciculata) are the smallest species of Asian and Old World Porcupine, with some likening them to spiny rats. Native to Sumatra, Borneo and Malaysia, they are found a variety of tropical habitats, including broadleaf forests, rain forests, peat swamp forests, freshwater swamp forests, lowland rain forests, montane rain forests, heath forests, montane alpine meadows, shrublands, subtropical coniferous forests, mangrove forests, savannas, grasslands, wetlands and swamps at elevations from sea level to 1159 meters (3802 feet). They spend most of their time on the ground and make their dens in in burrows, caves, and fissures in or around fallen trees, but occasionally climb trees and shrubs in search of food. A captive individual lived more than 10 years, but no information is available. On how long they live in the wild. [Source: Ariane Reister, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Long-tailed porcupines are primarily herbivores (eat plants or plants parts) but are also recognized as folivores (eat mainly leaves) and lignivores (eat wood). Animal foods include insects and terrestrial non-insect arthropods. Among the plant foods they eat are leaves, wood, bark, stems, seeds, grains, nuts, fruit,bamboo shoots, the cambium layer of trees, and agricultural crops. They usually forage on the ground but will climb trees and shrubs in search of food. /=\

Long-tailed porcupines are not endangered. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies them as a species of “Least Concern”. They are sometimes eaten as food by humans and some native people believe that their tails have value and remove them from the rest of the porcupine hide. They are regarded as crop pests and are particularly fond of pineapple and their eating the cambium layer of trees can cause trees to die.

Long-Tailed Porcupine Characteristics

Long-tailed porcupines range in weight from 1.5 to 2.3 kilograms (3.3 to 5.1 pounds) and have a head and body length that range in length from 27.9 to 48 centimeters (10 to 18.9 inches). Tail length averages 23 centimeters (nine inches) long. Long-tailed porcupines are good climbers, because of their broad paws. They have four toes on their front legs and five on their back legs. [Source: Ariane Reister, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

The upper body of Long-tailed porcupines is black or brown and their under body is white. Their head and undersides are covered with hair; the rest of them is covered with flattened, dark brown spines that have white tips. They have the shortest quills of any Old World porcupine. None of their quills are more than five centimeters (two inches) long. There are hairs, similar to bristles, between the quills. Scales cover most of their brown tail, which is tipped with brush-like hollow quills that are concentrated at the rear and the hindquarters. Unlike other porcupines, these quills do not produce a rattling sound when shaken

Long-tailed porcupines have the ability to break off their The long from the rest of the body — potentially allowing them to escape predators that grab their grabbed. More females than males have been found without tails, suggesting that perhaps males hold the females by their tail during mating, causing the tail to come off. Once lost, the tail cannot be regenerated.

Long-Tailed Porcupine Behavior and Communication

range of the long-tailed porcupine

Long-tailed porcupines are terricolous (live on the ground), arboreal (live in trees), nocturnal (active at night), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area) and solitary. They sense using touch, sound and chemicals detected by smelling and communicate with touch, sound and chemicals usually detected by smelling.

Long-tailed porcupines make dens in burrows, caves, trees, and other natural cavities. They are forage for food during night and spend most of the day in their dens. They are primarily ground-dwelling animals, they are also quite adept in trees and nimble climbers. When running along the forest floor, Long-tailed porcupines hold their tails straight up. They fluff and widen their quills and pounds their feet when frightened.

Specific information on the communication of long-tailed porcupines is not available But male Old World porcupines “sing” in a low-pitched and high-pitched whine when they are sexually excited. Mothers communicate with their young and direct them where to go with vocalizations. Sometimes the offspring respond with whimperings noise. /=\

Long-Tailed Porcupine Mating, Reproduction and Offspring

Long-tailed porcupines engage in seasonal breeding and produce up to two litters per year. Breeding occurs from September to November. The average gestation period is seven months and the average number of offspring is one or two. Young are precocial. This means they are relatively well-developed when born. Pre-weaning stage provisioning and protecting are done by females. The age in which they are weaned ranges from six to eight weeks. Females reach sexual or reproductive maturity at nine to 16 months, with the average being 12 months. Males reach sexual or reproductive maturity at eight to 18 months, with the average being 12 months.

Specific information on Long-tailed porcupine mating is not known, but it is thought to be similar to other Asian porcupines. According to Animal Diversity Web: The size of the male and the density of his quills seem to be a determining factor for females in choosing a mate. However, chemical cues are also expected to play a large role for the female in choosing a mate. The strong decaying-wood odor of porcupines probably attracts males and females to each other during the breeding season. When a female is ready to mate, she vocalizes a mating call, which attracts males to her. The males must then fight each other to be her mate. Males that win battles with other males may then be chosen by a female to be her mate. The winner is normally the largest and oldest porcupine, and he must guard the female from other suitors for three days. No specific information on mating systems has been found for Long-tailed porcupines, other than that it is similar to other porcupines in its family. /=\

Females are only sexually active for about a month (if they breed within that month). If the female does not breed within that month, she becomes sexually active again in another month. Females begin breeding at one year of age, ovulation often begins at 18 months of age. Leading up to the breeding season, females exhibit anxiousness and anticipation by gnawing their teeth on objects. They are also more vocal; chattering their teeth more than usual. Males also exhibit unusual behavior during this time period. They whine louder, and they travel farther than normal. These porcupines mate at night. After a gestation period of about seven months, one or two young "porcupettes" are born.

In related species, young are born with their eyes open and quills, incisors, and premolar teeth present. The mother takes care of her newborn though the summer months. Females nurse their young, which also begin to incorporate other foods into their diets relatively early./=\

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated January 2025