A Prickly Situation

Connor and I first noticed this porcupine sitting high up in this tree about 8 weeks ago.  The pictures are lousy because the camera is on full zoom, she really is up in the very top of the tree.

I wasn't terribly surprised to come across a porcupine, but I have been surprised that every time we go by this tree she is in the exact same spot.  I had taken to stopping by once a week or so just to say hi and it is very obvious that she has not moved out of this tree since I found her (I have no idea if 'she' is really a female, that is just my impression based on nothing other than that the belly looks rather bare).  We quit visiting all that often as I didn't want to bother her (although she doesn't seem to care much) and because, after weeks of living in this tree, the smell, even in sub-zero temps is astoundingly rank.  It's gotten so I can smell the tree over a thousand feet away.

What surprises me is that she has stayed up there for over two months through some truly awful weather.  I would think that a cozy den somewhere would be a much nicer spot to spend the winter, but every time we go by, there she is, perched on the same two spindly, little branches.  It's hard to see, but those branches she is straddling aren't even from the same tree.

I don't know all that much about porcupines other than that they are mostly nocturnal herbivores who eat a variety of plants, leaves, twigs and bark.  It is clear that this one moves around the tree a little bit, eating the twigs, but I can't see any sign that she has set foot on the ground since taking up residence. 

Unfortunately, the snow has gotten so deep that we can't get out there for a visit anymore.  Even with snowshoes, it's more than I want to do and it is far too deep for Connor.  I was kind of interested to see if she stayed up there all winter, but I guess we'll have to settle for stopping by come Spring to see if there is anything left of the tree.