Although there are many apple trees growing along the Salt Marsh Trail, few people would give them a second glance. Compared to the fruit available in grocery stores, they are far from perfect. They’re not quite ripe either, yet many have already fallen on the ground. How did they get there? Strong winds might have blown them off the branches, but porcupines are also known to shake them off.
I’ve often seen porcupines sitting in apple trees, as many as three in a tree at once. The apples rather than the leaves, twigs and bark of the tree are consumed. Apple seeds are not eaten due to their cyanide content. Although porcupines prefer nuts and acorns, if these are not available, apples will constitute a large part of their diet during the late summer and autumn.
High in carbohydrates, apples help the porcupine gain the extra weight necessary to help them survive through the winter months. Due to the higher potassium levels in apples, their consumption will prompt porcupines to seek extra sodium in their diet. They’ll find the salt in water plants, insects, animal bones, the outer bark of trees and sometimes the soil of river banks and sand bars.
This porcupine was sitting in an apple tree close to the Salt Marsh Trail. I don’t know how it managed to balance its large bulky form on such a narrow branch. As you can see, its backside holds a formidable array of quills. An adult porcupine can have up to 3o,000 of them. If the branch broke and it fell to the ground, this rodent would be well equipped to defend itself against predators.
Porcupines are more concerned with the pH of an apple’s contents rather than its looks. They tend to choose ones that are less acidic. Given the choice of a store-bought apple and a wild one, I wonder which the porcupine would prefer.
Almost all wild apples are handsome. They cannot be too gnarly and crabbed and rusty to look at. The gnarliest will have some redeeming traits even to the eye.
~ Henry David Thoreau
Nutritional reference: Porcupine Nutrition Standards (pdf)
For more information on our local porcupines, see Porcupines Along Salt Marsh Trail.
Flandrum Hill 
What an unusual and fascinating subject– porcupines in apple trees! I had no idea they ate apples.
Isn’t it funny how certain animals get stereotyped (Porcupines have quills, skunks spray awful-smelling stuff, foxes are clever, etc.), and those are the images that stick in our minds unless we consciously look at them differently? Thanks for helping me to see these little guys in a different light, Amy.
I’m so glad you’re such a morning person. I’m never up early enough to catch the kind of stuff you photograph and write about, even if I lived in a rural area.
There are a lot of animal stereotypes out there Joan. I’m glad to help break them.
I was on the trail pretty early this morning – well over an hour before sunrise. The stars were so brilliant in the night sky. I was concerned I might run into a porcupine in the darkness as I’ve seen them walking along the trail before, but no problems. There were lots of herons flying about and seagulls waking up.
You lucky duck, getting a close photo of a porcupine! Have never seen one in an apple tree, yet, but will now be on the look out. Have been noticing the great number of apples on the trees and have been thinking it’s time to take a picture of the beauties again. Do you think it’s a good year for apples around you? And how would you rate the year for berries?
Kathy, this one was just at arm’s length. Also check oak trees as they like acorns too. I read a while back about there possibly being a bumper crop this year in the Annapolis Valley which is known for its apples. There seem to be a lot of blackberries on the wild bushes in my yard but it will be at least a week before they’re ready. The local strawberries were super tasty this year.
Great eyes to spot on. I rarely have seen them in the wild.
Shelagh, having a dog who was notorious for regularly getting a snout full of quills made me a keen porcupine spotter years ago. On walks in the woods I tried to see them before he did so that I could put him back on his leash before we got too close.
I recently saw my first porkie in a tree….didn’t get as close as you did though! I so enjoy all the nature information you share! Kind of like Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom-guy….what was his name?!? 🙂
Haha Cindy! Marlin Perkins – was that him? I used to watch him too 🙂
I’d assumed it was squirrels knocking the apples to the ground. Now I’ll be on the lookout for quilly rascals.
I’ll wander around the neighborhood staring upward, and when people ask what I’m doing I’ll say “looking for porcupines” and, well, my reputation for eccentricity will be confirmed.
Still, Miss Sadie is in favor of the project. She has been quilled, and she is quite interested in deterrence measures.
I’ve seen red squirrels knocking spruce cones from trees but I’ve never even seen a red squirrel in the apple trees. I’ve read of porcupines gathering the apples into piles after shaking them from a limb and then rolling them to a safe eating location. They are clever. Tamarack(aka hackmatack) trees are another favorite of porcupines. Keep an eye on Miss Sadie around them too.
A few days ago I saw my first porcupine in the wild climbing down out of a tree just off the back yard in the woods…I heard him and got out the binoculars – it was still not quite light (I get up early!) and watched him waddle out of sight! Your photos are so awesome…eating apples! I never knew that. We have nasty fisher cats around here that eat them – porcupines!!
Millhill, early morning is probably the best time to see porcupines as they head home after a night of foraging. We have some fishers in Nova Scotia too, but their population is fairly low, so the number of porcupines is pretty good despite the fact that many end up on the roadkill café menu.
We were there today (August 29) doing some geocaching and there was the porcupine in the apple tree! Watching him move was great:) The tide was low today and also saw many neat birds (20 Great Blue Herons) and other birds I had not seen before, someone was also digging clams. ONe of my favourite places. Thanks for the great pictures.
Kerry that’s great that you were able to see the porcupine. It’s so cool that you don’t even have to leave the trail to see them. I was there at dawn and saw quite a few herons too. They’ve been gathering over the past couple of weeks. As we get closer to fall, the flocks of herons, ducks and Canada geese will get bigger and bigger. It’s pretty amazing to see so many birds at once.
I haven’t dug for clams myself but often notice that there are a lot of clammers who take boats out to the sandbars during low tide. It sure is a lovely place. I’ll bet there are a lot of geocaches out there. Thank you so much for stopping by and letting me know that you also managed to see some wildlife there 🙂
The first time I saw a porcupine in a young sapling, the tree bow-bent under its weight, I could hardly believe my eyes. Even the ungraceful have their talents, I now think with a smile. I’ll be watching the wild sour apple trees in my neighborhood, thanks to your post.
Pamela, I don’t know how they balance themselves, unless they’re more quill than body. Good luck spotting them in the wild apple trees.
Neat post. I enjoyed it. I’ve seen lots of hedgehogs here, but don’t know if they have any procupines.
Steve, unfortunately, we don’t have hedgehogs in North America. They seem more approachable than our porcupines. I’m glad you liked the post.
Man, do I feel like our biology teacher cheated us!
I had NO IDEA that porcupines were able to climb trees! I always think of them as scurrying away through the undergrowth. I’ve clearly been looking for them in the wrong places!
What a pity that the best time to see them is early morning. By the time we roll out of bed on Saturday morning and make it up to Newlands Forest (which is our nearest forest, on the slopes of Table Mountain), it’s waaaaay past sunrise.
In fact, I think the entrance gate to the forest only OPENS after sunrise (for safety reasons… we unfortunately have some resourceful and hardy muggers around here).
What a pity… I would so love to see a real, live, porcupine picking apples from a tree.
You are SOOO lucky, Amy.
Indeed I am Reggie. Dusk and dawn are the best times to see animals. Even if you miss them early in the morning you still have a chance to see them in the evening.
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