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The National Zoo Has A New Porcupine Daddy
DEC 12, 2018, 11:21 AM
The National Zoo Has A New Porcupine Daddy
Rachel Kurzius
Meet Quillbur, who is about to be very busy.
Courtesy of Smithsonian's National Zoo
Most religions have mourning periods with varying lengths, depending on one’s relationship to the deceased. But my cursory look through sacred texts found nothing on how long zoos and zoo-goers should remain bereaved over the death of a beloved prehensile-tailed porcupine.
The Smithsonian National Zoo euthanized nine-year-old Clark in March after he developed tracheitis, leaving behind his mating partner, Bess, and their four porcupettes: Charlotte, now in Tampa; Chloe, who lives in Little Rock; Rico, currently in Baltimore; and the youngest, Beatrix, who resides in D.C. in the same enclosure as her mother.
The zoo just brought in a new porcupine to mate with Bess and/or Beatrix (scandalous!). His name is Quillbur. ... “It’s not that Clark can ever, ever possibly be replaced,” says Maria Montgomery, an animal keeper at the zoo who works closely with the prehensile-tailed porcupines. Still, Quillbur is “our new breeding male … He is going to be a very busy fellow.”
But not quite yet. Quillbur, who arrived two weeks before Thanksgiving from upstate New York, isn’t sexually mature. He’s currently being housed separately from Bess and Beatrix, and keepers are waiting to introduce them until they have an active interest in breeding. They’re expecting that to happen around spring 2019.
....
The National Zoo Has A New Porcupine Daddy
Rachel Kurzius
Meet Quillbur, who is about to be very busy.
Courtesy of Smithsonian's National Zoo
Most religions have mourning periods with varying lengths, depending on one’s relationship to the deceased. But my cursory look through sacred texts found nothing on how long zoos and zoo-goers should remain bereaved over the death of a beloved prehensile-tailed porcupine.
The Smithsonian National Zoo euthanized nine-year-old Clark in March after he developed tracheitis, leaving behind his mating partner, Bess, and their four porcupettes: Charlotte, now in Tampa; Chloe, who lives in Little Rock; Rico, currently in Baltimore; and the youngest, Beatrix, who resides in D.C. in the same enclosure as her mother.
The zoo just brought in a new porcupine to mate with Bess and/or Beatrix (scandalous!). His name is Quillbur. ... “It’s not that Clark can ever, ever possibly be replaced,” says Maria Montgomery, an animal keeper at the zoo who works closely with the prehensile-tailed porcupines. Still, Quillbur is “our new breeding male … He is going to be a very busy fellow.”
But not quite yet. Quillbur, who arrived two weeks before Thanksgiving from upstate New York, isn’t sexually mature. He’s currently being housed separately from Bess and Beatrix, and keepers are waiting to introduce them until they have an active interest in breeding. They’re expecting that to happen around spring 2019.
....
