Making a Prickly Point

Hello. My name is Porky. I am a special creature of my Great Creator. I am easily recognized by my black and brownish fur, my strong, stubby legs, my small face and snout, but especially by my 30,000 or so loosely attached quills. I am called a porcupine.

I have been given a unique defense system specially designed by my Creator since I would be otherwise defenseless. I have a coat of multibarbed quills on all parts of my body except my face and stomach. And each quill is controlled by a separate muscle. My longest quills – some as long as 5 inches – are on my rump; the shortest are on my cheeks.

My quills are usually held flat against my body But when I sense danger, I raise my quills upright so that the quills can easily lodge in any unfortunate enemy that brushes against me. The raised quills also make me look much bigger and more dangerous.

When I am threatened and want to protect my vulnerable head, I will turn my back on my enemy, tuck my head between my front paws, and swish my tail. Sometimes the force of swinging my tail can dislodge loose quills, but I do not “throw” my quills as many believe.

Let me tell you, my quills are no chance product of evolution. Each quill is an evidence of phenomenal design. Hollow for most of the shaft, my quills are truly lightweight armor – it takes 4,000 of them to weigh an ounce! And each quill becomes solid as it tapers to a stiff point covered with reverse barbs.

Woe to any predator that gets stuck with my quills. As the victim’s body heat causes the barbs to expand, the quills become even more deeply embedded, making their removal painful and difficult. It takes only the lightest contact for a quill to puncture an enemy’s skin, and many predators and curious pets have been sorry for their interest in me!

I am a strict herbivore. I feed mostly at night, and almost entirely in and on trees, though occasionally I enjoy green plants like skunk cabbage and clover. In the summer I search out the tips of branches to get the tenderest buds, leaves, fruit, and nuts. During the winter I feed on the softer layer under the bark of trees. Am I a threat to God’s forests? Actually I am a friend. By seeking out the weakest, tenderest trees, I thin out overly dense areas, helping forests to thrive and grow. In a sense, I am God’s forester!

And God sure designed me to do the job. Equipped with strong, sharp, curved claws, I am an excellent climber. And like all rodents, my front top teeth continue to grow through out my life, so I must keep gnawing on hard things like tree branches to keep the teeth from becoming overgrown. Another God-designed feature is that my teeth have a thick layer of enamel on the front side and none on the back, so that as the tooth wears down it stays very sharp. Just think! God has given me my own set of built-in, self-sharpening wood chisels!

You might think, “How do I ever live day to day with all these quills?” Wouldn’t it be dangerous to climb around in trees wearing a coat made of needles? You are right. I am a bit chunky to begin with and not the best at balancing, and since I like the ends of branches, I am at high risk for taking quite a tumble and landing on my quills. Ouch! But I am very adept at removing quills from myself, using paws and teeth. And here is where God made special provision for me. My quills are covered with a grey, greasy substance that is actually antibiotic in nature and keeps quill wounds from becoming infected! The antibiotic properties work on enemies as well, and most predators will not die of infection but of being unable to eat due to quills in the throat and mouth.

I know another thing you are probably thinking: How do porcupines make love? I will only answer - very carefully!

Yes, I am all by design. Even though I am a rodent, I am not like any other. And can you think even for a moment that it came about by blind chance – did my ancestors turn their hair into sharp, hollow, barbed quills because they saw that they needed a defense mechanism? Did they develop strong, sharp claws because they were living in trees and found it difficult to move around? Did they start making antibiotic ointment so that their quills would not infect themselves?

No, God made me to be exactly what I am today. He has created everything by design and the variations that make every creature unique to its kind are NOT by chance but are created very deliberately by my Great Creator God.

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