Baby Porcupine Born At National Zoo

A prehensile-tailed porcupine gave birth to a baby early Wednesday morning at the zoo's Small Mammal House, zoo officials say.

The baby porcupine, also known as a porcupette, was born in the early hours before zookeepers arrived to work.

But the birth was not a surprise -- veterinarians had been expecting the baby since last month, when they performed an ultrasound and confirmed the pregnancy.

Veterinarians say the porcupette seems healthy, but were unable to determine its gender because porcupine sexual organs are internal.

It could take up to six weeks before zoo keepers learn whether the porcupette is a boy or a girl, but zoo scientists plan to test DNA from the baby's quills in the coming weeks to find out, zoo officials say.

When born, the baby prehensile-tailed porcupine's fur is rusty orange, unlike the adults' dark brown and black fur. The babies are born with quills, but the quills are soft during delivery and harden in less than an hour.

This porcupette is the fourth prehensile-tailed porcupine at the National Zoo and will be on display -- along with its mother, father and older sister -- at the Small Mammal House.

Native to South America, prehensile-tailed porcupines are mostly nocturnal and become aggressive when threatened by shaking their quills, growling, and curling up into a ball.

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