*please click the photos to properly see the species
Hedgehogs vs. Porcupines
What’s the difference?
Species.
- Porcupines are in the Rodent family.
- Hedgehogs are in the Erinaceid family.
They’re extremely different. For the sake of simplicity, I won’t get into the classifications, but you can easily look it up. They’re very, very far apart.
Size & Weight.
- North american porcupines weigh around 25 pounds, and African ones can get over 60. In fact, they’re the third largest rodent in the world. Most porcupines are 25 to 35 inches long, not counting the tail.
- An obese hedgehog would be 5 pounds, with the average being 1 pound. They get 4 to 9 inches in length.
Lethality.
- Porcupines are built for defence against large animals. African porcupines can injure and even kill lions in the wild if attacked. While they can be somewhat tamed, they are rare as pets, and are very dangerous to humans. Their quills get up to 12 inches long.
- Hedgehogs are built to be unappealing as a meal. It is unheard of for a hedgehog to give a human any more than a sharp scratch. They’re domesticated, and very common as pets, even though they are nocturnal. Their quills get around 1 inch long.
I hope this cleared up any confusion about the differences. If there is anything I may have missed, please let me know and I’ll gladly add it!
photos:
¹ http://www.flickr.com/photos/72168832@N00/2670708889
² http://www.flickr.com/photos/34013058@N03/3233055732
³ http://www.flickr.com/photos/37287958@N04/4419670463
⁴ http://www.flickr.com/photos/22338198@N07/2743062131 by Ran
⁵ http://www.flickr.com/photos/24899034@N07/2745769115
