Spike in cuteness: Massachusetts zoo welcomes baby porcupine

Updated: 3:35 AM EDT Jun 30, 2022

A Massachusetts zoo is seeing a spike in cuteness among its animals with a new addition.Stone Zoo in Stoneham, Massachusetts, announced that a baby prehensile-tailed porcupine, called a porcupette, was born Saturday and is settling in well with its family in the "Windows to the Wild" space.The porcupette, which weighed just over a pound at birth, is the third offspring for 9-year-old mom, Prickles, and 10-year-old dad, Shadow.Pete Costello, assistant curator at Stone Zoo, said staff are weighing the porcupette every morning and that the baby is gaining weight at a healthy pace. The baby, believed to be a male, also appeared to be healthy and alert during its first medical exam on Monday.Prehensile-tailed porcupines are born with reddish-brown hair that will eventually change color and soft quills that will harden over time. They are found in the forests of South America and their tails act like a fifth limb, helping them grasp branches as they move through trees.This species of porcupette is fairly independent after birth and do not nurse often, so zoo guests may see the new baby hanging out on a perch by itself. They are nocturnal and spend much of their time resting during the day. Watch the video above for the full story.

A new baby animal at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, looks like it will have visitors squealing with delight.

Officials at the Boston zoo said a red river hog piglet made its exhibit debut on Tuesday and is expected to be out when the weather is nice and not raining.

The tiny, watermelon-patterned female was born on July 31 to mom Artemis and dad Tamu. The piglet has been doing well and is nursing from her mother. She is already starting to investigate mom's food, even though she isn't quite ready to eat solid food yet.

“We’re really thrilled about this birth, which is a first for this species here at Franklin Park Zoo,” Christine Bartos, assistant curator at Franklin Park Zoo, said in a statement. “Now that the little one has made her exhibit debut, it’s a wonderful opportunity for guests to observe her exploring with mom. Artemis is doing great and being a very attentive mother. This is her first litter, and she has been perfect!”

Red river hogs are native to west and central Africa and are found in thickets, forests, savannas and swamps. They have coarse, rosy hair all over their body with a crest of white hair running along their spine. Both males and females have tusks.

These hogs are social animals and often live in groups called sounders that range from two to 15 young females and one adult male. A typical sounder contains three to six individual hogs.

This species will eat almost anything they come in contact with and have an excellent sense of smell, sight and hearing for locating food. The most common sources of food for red river hogs are grasses, roots, bulbs and fruits.

Zoo New England

Zoo New England, which manages Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo in Stoneham, participates in the Red River Hog Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is a cooperative, inter-zoo program coordinated nationally through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. SSPs help to ensure the survival of selected species — most of which are threatened or endangered — in zoos and aquariums, and enhance the conservation of those species in the wild.

The red river hog piglet is the second baby animal for Zoo New England in recent months. Stone Zoo announced last month that a Linne's two-toed sloth baby was born at the zoo on July 31, and that zoo is holding an online naming auction for the baby sloth that will run through Sept. 19.

Franklin Park Zoo also said its new red river piglet was among three born in Artemis' litter. Sadly, the other two piglets in the litter did not survive.