Porcupine Hunting

Porcupine hunting is generally not a priority for most African hunters but done when the opportunity arises.

There are many subspecies of porcupine across the world, and in Africa there a 3 types of porcupine.

African Porcupine Species

Crested Porcupine - Hystrix cristata
Cape Porcupine - Hystrix africaeaustralis
African Brush-Tailed Porcupine - Atherurus africanus

Where To Hunt A Porcupine

There is quite a major overlap of porcupine ranges in Africa. For example the Cape porcupine of southern Africa can be found across the whole continent up to Kenya and Uganda. Outfitters don't specify porcupine type in the trophy list.

It is highly unlikely you can hunt an African brush-tailed porcupine as they occur in a broad swathe across central Africa from Guinea to Kenya. The hunting countries it occurs in don't offer porcupine hunting.

So you can hunt a non-specific porcupine in Botswana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Which Porcupine Is Which?

Click image to enlarge

Crested Porcupine

Crested Porcupine

Cape Porcupine

Cape Porcupine

The crested and Cape porcupines look quite similar, though the Cape porcupine is the bigger one, which is not a lot of help unless you have the 2 porcupines standing side by side. In fact the Cape porcupine is the largest rodent in Africa. The Cape porcupine can be distinguished by the strip of white, short quills that run along their rumps. The African brush-tailed porcupine is completely different and looks more like a spiny rat.

African Brush-Tailed Porcupine

African Brush-Tailed Porcupine

Porcupine Hunting Prices

In Botswana you can hunt a porcupine on a private game ranch for a trophy fee of about US$250.
In Ethiopia, porcupines don't appear on any trophy price lists but they are allowed to be hunted, so just enquire.
In Namibia you need a special hunting permit for porcupine to be obtained well in advance of your hunt. The porcupine trophy fee is between US$250 and US$550.
In South Africa you can buy special nocturnal hunt packages which include porcupine. The trophy fee for porcupine ranges from US$100 to US$390.
In Mozambique, the Government licence fee for a porcupine is about US$125, which may bring a total trophy fee to between US$350 and US$500.
In Tanzania, you can hunt a porcupine on a 21 day licence only. The Government trophy fee for porcupine is US$150. When the Community Development/anti-poaching fee is added, the trophy fee will be between US$190 and US$240.
In Zambia, the porcupine trophy fee is about US$150.
In Zimbabwe, the trophy fee for a porcupine is between US$200 and US$500.

Porcupine Hunting Methods

As porcupines are nocturnal, usually sleeping in a hidden spot during the day. You can get lucky and spot one in the early morning or late evening while out hunting something else. If you are doing a specially permitted night hunt for a range of nocturnal animals in South Africa, you can use a spot-light an stake out one of their regular pathways.

A Good Porcupine Trophy

Any mature porcupine will be a good trophy.

Porcupine Hunting Shot Placement

Aim at the chest area with a small calibre.

Porcupine Vital Statistics

Porcupine Vital Statistics
	Crested Porcupine	Cape Porcupine	African Brush-Tailed Porcupine
Body Length exc.tail	24-33" 60-83cm	25-32" 63-81cm	15.7-19.6" 40-50cm
Weight	29-60lb 13-27kg	22-53lb 10-24kg	6.6lb 3kg

Porcupine Habitat and Requirements

The porcupine is found in most African habitats including mountains, deserts and forests.

Porcupine Social Structure

Porcupines live alone or in small family groups. They are primarily nocturnal, although it may be seen occasionally during the day.

Porcupine Gestation Period

Porcupine have a 3 month gestation period and usually 1 to 4 young are produced.

Porcupine Gender Identification

There is not an easily discernable gender difference in porcupines. Porcupine females are generally larger than males.

Porcupine Trophy Permits (2015)

All Porcupines
CITES	USF&W	EU	AUS
N/A	N/A	Crested Porcupine only - Annex A Import Permit	N/A

Porcupine Trophy Taxidermy

Most hunters have a full mount of their porcupine trophy with the quills raised and fanned out. This is what a porcupine does if it is threatened in order to make themselves look bigger.

Click images to enlarge

Porcupine Full Mount

Porcupine Full Mount

Taxidermy photos courtesy of Life-Form Taxidermy

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