A 6-year-old prehensile-tailed porcupine is poised to be the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's next social media star.
Rico, who was born at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and came to Cincinnati at 3 months old, has captivated the zoo's social media audience with his boop-able nose, love for snoozing and the adorable way he crunches on snacks.
He is viewable to the public every day at the zoo's animal ambassador center, where he might be seen napping or eating some of his favorite foods. We got to meet Rico and ask his keepers, Mark Muthersbaugh and Tami Ware, some questions about this up-and-coming local celebrity.
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What are some of Rico's favorite snacks?
Muthersbaugh: Some of Rico's favorite snacks are the crunchy ones that make for good sound clips. Some of his favorites are banana chips, pecans, he loves dried fruit, peanut butter, corn on the cob. He has a pretty varied diet and is part of the rodent family, so he has ever-growing teeth that are self-sharpening. So, offering him foods that are crunchy helps to maintain his tooth health, as well.
When did you know Rico would be a social media star?
Ware: One of our former keepers, Erin, really wanted to push Rico and for everybody to know who he was. During the pandemic when we started doing our home safaris, we were able to do some with him, and that's when everybody got to see him up close and he really took off. I think it was late 2020 when one of his videos went viral, and he had one video that surpassed some of Fiona's videos. That's when we knew he was a star.
What are some of Rico's favorite things to do?
Ware: Sleep! Porcupines are nocturnal, so that's something we like to see during the day. He's an arboreal animal, so he loves being up in trees, but whenever he gets the opportunity, he also loves to run.
He really enjoys his keepers, too. We're able to give him scratches. He'll kind of lull himself to sleep when we scratch him. He really enjoys attention from us.
What do porcupines eat in the wild?
Muthersbaugh: This species would primarily eat vegetation. Chewing on tree branches and bark would help maintain their teeth. They'll find seeds and nuts, fruits, veggies, tubers, really anything that grows from the earth.
How long do porcupines typically live?
Muthersbaugh: He has a really good healthcare system here and access to food and activities. We would expect Rico to probably live into his mid-teen years.
Can porcupines shoot out their quills?
Ware: No, not like we were taught in cartoons. They can make them stand up on end. So, if he gets startled or scared, he'll fluff up and make all his quills stand up to make himself look a lot bigger. All the quills have little barbs on them. If he was ever threatened in the wild, he would fluff up and then back into the predator, and that barb would go into the predator's muscle. So, we make sure not to brush up against him in the opposite direction.
What does Rico's prehensile tail do?
Muthersbaugh: His tail has a little bald patch underneath it, which all of the prehensile-tailed porcupines have, and it allows them to have a little more grip. He can wrap his tail around things and use it almost like a fifth limb, and that helps to keep him steady in the tree tops as he's moving from branch to branch.
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