Many people consider porcupines to be a nuisance because of the damage they cause to trees and wooden structures. Though if you need a paper target, you can download and print as many Alien Gear 8" x 11.5" printable targets as you want. Just loaded up some steel in the back of a pickup and went out int he desert and plinked for hours. When on land, muskrats are vulnerable to predation by foxes, coyotes and raccoons. Could the intruder sue you for wounding them? The Old World species have spines that are grouped into clusters, while the New World species have spines that are attached to the skin singly. On occasion, they can be attracted to the wood handles of tools, wheelbarrows and gloves because of salty sweat absorbed in those items. Predators like coyotes, cougars and bobcats prey on porcupines. The North American porcupine is the only species that lives in the U.S. and Canada, and is the largest of all porcupines. Porcupines cannot “shoot” their quills, but the quills come out quite easily on contact. Muskrats have several litters each season. The young weigh about one-half ounce at birth, but grow rapidly and can live on their own after only one month. Predators always take a chance when they attack a porcupine, because they risk getting quills in the face and eyes. The muskrat is not really a rat, but it is a common herbivore (plant eater) of Minnesota's wetlands. Porcupines will eat most anything. As soon as the quills are dry, a new-born porcupine can defend itself from some predators. Porcupines can be vicious killers. Although there are numerous different species of porcupines in existence, only one roams throughout the United States, according to the National Geographic. If they become overly-abundant, they may create problems by digging holes in dikes and dams or tunneling out bank dens along lake and river shorelands. Something interesting: The quill of the porcupine is scaled so it moves forward every time the victim moves. During other seasons, favored foods are the bark, buds, and needles of trees. So it looks like you can shoot on public land in MN? The North American porcupine is found in New England, the upper Midwest and western United States and most of Canada. Length: The muskrat is about 20 inches long, including its 9-inch tail. Populations of some species, especially turtles, can be adversely affected by the removal of a small number of individuals. The muskrat's main predators are mink and otters. DNR RESPONSE TO COVID-19: For details on adjustments to DNR services, visit this webpage. Coyotes, raccoons, skunks and woodchuck are not protected and can be taken year-round when they are doing or about to do damage on private property. General description: A slow-moving mid-sized mammal with white-banded quills and somewhat roundish appearance. Shooting is probably the most humane approach to controlling porcupine populations. Opossum, porcupine, weasel, red squirrel, ground squirrel and feral swine can also be taken year-round with a valid Michigan hunting license. The muskrat is found throughout of Minnesota. The Debunker: Can Porcupines Shoot Their Quills? If you shoot him, will you be criminally charged with assault or murder? The most obvious trait is the long, sharp quills that cover their bodies. The porcupine is unprotected in Minnesota. See the thing is I recently visited out west and went shooting with a friend. All porcupines have a few traits in common. Every farmer I have ever spoken to, has asked me to kill porcupines if I see any on their property. Unlike the beaver, the muskrat does not store food for the winter. Muskrats eat the roots, stems, leaves, and fruits of a many water plants, such as cattail, wild rice, water lilies, and rushes. Most cougars will avoid confrontation. Despite a very slow walking pace and a low reproductive rate, its coat of long, sharp quills enables the porcupine to live a long life by protecting it from predators. A. Porcupines do not shoot their quills and only intentionally loose them as a final resort when all other defensive warning measures have failed. If you believe, as I do, that the moral arc of the universe bends away from ignorance, then the matter of porcupine defense is a depressing one. Porcupines bristle up when alarmed, and a small muscle attached to … Porcupine dens are easiest to spot in winter, when there will be large accumulations of scat around the entrances and hemlocks with partially stripped branches nearby. It was amazing and so different then what I used to doing. You must stop shooting if the threat is … Some raptors (bird predators) such as eagles and ospreys will attack swimming muskrats. Porcupines stamp their feet and use their sharp teeth and start fowling so to scare the enemy. They make shake them, which makes them rattle, as a warning to potential predators. Salty items are consumed with relish, including axe handles, canoe paddles, outhouses, and even automobile radiator hoses. Porcupines’ back, sides, and tail are covered with thousands of stiff, needle-like, finely barbed hairs (quills) for defense. Whether you can shoot in your backyard comes down to your local ordinances, so know them by heart before opening up on your favorite target, paper or otherwise. Killing porcupines using a lethal trap is another method that some people will use when they are trying to solve a porcupine problem, and for the skilled trapper then this can be effective. A porcupine’s diet is wide, varied, and a little hard to digest. Some species can be well over 60 lbs., and over 2.5 ft. long. The answers depend on the state you live in and on your circumstances. Muskrats produce many young. Contact your local DNR office for more specific guidance. An adult female can have two or three litters of up to 10 young each summer. It is just a scavenger, and if it poses a … They are vegetarians. It has no value as a hunted or trapped species, but it is an important member of the forest community. My opinion is that if you keep an 7 inch bluegill, it cannot grow to 10 inches or 12 inches, etc. All predators use the same method for attacking; this includes rapid bites to the porcupine's facial area, followed by biting into the quill-free underside. A lifetime of grasses, herbs, bark and other vegetation can leave little bits of indigestible matter behind in a porcupine’s digestive tract, where they occasionally congeal into a hard ball called a bezoar. The porcupine is one of the most interesting and unusual wildlife species in Minnesota. Porcupines will move on after eating anything that they can. The sedentary winter is the gestation period for the single porcupine offspring that will be born in April or May, its parents having enjoyed an extremely brief, if sweet, courtship in late October or early November. Porcupine. But you start with the land, not the paperwork. For information on the state’s response, visit the Department of Health website. No, they cannot shoot their spines at you. Remember, porcupines love salt and anything coated in it. People have been wrong about porcupine quills for over 2,500 years, and don’t seem to be getting any less wrong. Length: Adults are 24 to 40 inches long, including the five to seven inch tail. But not this one. Not to catch dinks and shoot spikes. Females may announce their readiness to breed by "screaming" from a tree top. The problem with using lethal traps is that they aren't always discriminate in what animals they kill, and the type of bait that will attract a porcupine is also likely to attract other animals. I shot trap there as part of a High school team and the facilities are in good shape. All species are equipped with defensive spines, which protect them from predators. Smart News Keeping you current Porcupine Quills Can Kill Researchers in Italy watched porcupines corner a dog and stab it to death. Besides the Sand Dunes. © 2020 Minnesota DNR | Equal opportunity employer |, Call 651-296-6157 or 888-MINNDNR (646-6367). Color: The upper body is reddish brown, while the under parts are grayish brown. Hiya husky, I am unsure of any public land, but the West End Gun club has events at which you can shoot for free. It may not grow into a quality but it will never get there if you shoot it. The fisher is most adept at killing the porcupine, but other predators include the bobcat, wolf, and coyote. An adult female can have two or three litters of up to 10 young each summer. Very old porcupines appear gray or white. Sometimes, porcupines strip bark to the extent that the trees die. So if you live in a rural area where roads are salted in winter, your tires will be fair game. It’s not just dumb people, either. In order to hunt in Minnesota, there are a variety of licenses that you can choose from depending on who you are and what you plan to hunt. However, if the enemy keeps scaring, they run back to attack them with their quills. Check with your local county. Porcupines have a great sense of smell so that the porcupines can sense the enemies from a distance. I would rather shoot the varmint and keep quiet, than pay the price when my dog gets it. When faced with danger, the porcupine will usually climb a tree. If a tip is left in the body, it can travel and enter a vital part, killing the animal weeks later. Trapping, of course, helps to keep these prolific animals in balance with their habitat. To stay warm in winter, groups of muskrats huddle together in their lodges. DNR RESPONSE TO COVID-19: For details on adjustments to DNR services, visit this webpage. Twins do not occur in the porcupine world. In addition to plant material, porcupines crave salt and are attracted to objects that have salty human sweat on them, such as ax handles, boat oars, etc. Porcupines on the other hand have quills which can pierce your skin if you mess with them, but they do not 'shoot' them out. That is where they spend the winter and raise their young. Food. For example, there is a lot of state land along the Minnesota River, usually in small parcels that were tax forfeited yars ago. As soon as the quills are dry, a new-born porcupine can defend itself from some predators. Adults use their stiff quills as "braces" to help them climb trees. While, In fact, in Minnesota, you can shoot an intruder — even kill — if you feel threatened with great bodily harm or death. Often, the muskrat can be seen carrying aquatic vegetation as it swims. While they appear clumsy on the ground, they are very adept tree climbers. That species is the North American porcupine ( Erethizon dorsatum), which is also frequently referred to as the common porcupine. Even though the muskrat is mainly a plant eater, it also eats small fish, clams, snails, and even turtles. Curiously enough, despite the range of ages specified in the varying licenses seeming to go from 10 to infinity, there exists a lifetime license for a child as young as 3 years of age. The young weigh about one-half ounce at birth, but grow rapidly and can live on their own after only one month. During summer, porcupines eat leaves, nuts, and berries. Color: Dark gray to black, with white-banded quills. Porcupines are mammals. Porcupines are found throughout the upper two-thirds of Minnesota. These rodents are relatively large compared to the rest of the order Rodentia. Their fur ranges in color from brownish-yellow to black, and they sport white highlights in their quills. If you have these attractants around your property, porcupines may come looking for a snack. Weight: Adults weigh from 18 to 35 pounds. The Minnesota DNR suggests that, if you encounter a cougar: Face the cougar directly, raise your arms to make yourself appear larger and speak loudly and firmly. It lives in marshes, ponds, and streams that have many water plants. Porcupines are also attracted to salt. You weigh out the odds. Other Wildlife There is no restriction in New Hampshire on the taking of woodchucks, porcupines, English sparrows, European starlings, common feral pigeons, red squirrels and other rodents not covered in this publication. So, what legal protection might you have if you shoot an intruder? The muskrat and its bigger cousin, the beaver, are the only mammals that actually build homes in the water. porcupine can throw its quills at an attacker is a widely-believed bit of animal misinformation. Q. NOTE: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge (Big Stone and Lac qui Parle Counties) 44843 County Rd 19, Odessa, MN 56276, 320-273-2191.Small Game and deer hunting are open as posted with “Public Hunting Area” signs or shown on maps available at parking areas and at the Refuge Headquarters. If you want to use some land you would have to check that specific land, the county tax records is where you might start. A single animal may have 30,000 or more quills. General description: The muskrat swims low in the water, with its long, almost-hairless tail curling behind. I would check their dates for such events though. Males seek receptive females beginning in late fall. Despite a very slow walking pace and a low reproductive rate, its coat of long, sharp quills enables the porcupine to live a long life by protecting it from predators. Hedgehogs stick them up so you wont pick them up, that wont do much harm. For information on the state’s response, visit the Department of Health website. If that doesn't work, they may charge backwards into the predator. There may be several porcupines in a square mile of forest habitat. It needs to eat fresh plants each day, and sometimes it makes channels in the mud to get from its house to reach food under the ice. Although famous for its domed houses of mud and vegetation, it just as often lives in burrows. Muskrats produce many young. I'm in it to catch big fish and hunt quality bucks. When do porcupines shoot their quills? Some quills can get up to a foot (30 centimeters) long, like those on the Africa's crested porcupine, according to National Geographic. The quills have many barbs - a single porcupine may have as many as 39,000 barbs. © 2020 Minnesota DNR | Equal opportunity employer |, Call 651-296-6157 or 888-MINNDNR (646-6367). Porcupines use the quills as a defense. Same if you shoot a spike or fork buck. The porcupine is one of the most interesting and unusual wildlife species in Minnesota. 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