The porcupine is North America’s second-largest rodent (after the beaver). Like most rodents, they have one particularly fascinating feature: their teeth!

In common with most rodents, porcupines have teeth that never stop growing. Somewhat more unique is the colour: if you look closely at this picture, you’ll notice a pair of bright orange teeth. The colour comes from a high amount of iron oxide which creates the strength to withstand their tough diet of bark, twigs, stems and berries.

The name porcupine comes from Old French “porc espin”, which means “thorn pig”. Their thorns give them a great deal of protection from would-be predators. This means that safety in numbers is not as important as it is to other rodents, and so porcupines live much more solitary lives. They are mostly nocturnal, but I was lucky enough to spot this one chewing away at a high tree branch on a bright winter’s day.

Porcupine, Canada