Kinda cool to see iNat’s Explore page being used by a newscaster reporting on the eastward range expansion of North American Porcupines: https://www.kvue.com/article/life/animals/porcupines-austin-central-texas-2021/269-9ae572fd-a46c-427f-b515-d7e56fbc3ff4
Greg Lasley (RIP) called it a few years ago when I interviewed him (at around 4:20): https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/17670-an-interview-with-greglasley
Kind of triggering to see them start with a picture of the wrong species of porcupine though!
‘A birder gone bad’. That’s how Greg described himself and what he said in that video is, to me, what iNat is about. I miss him.
Cool! Thank you!.)
Right on, Greg!
Porcupine distribution is interesting. The species seems to have declined drastically in some parts of New Mexico (although its range is statewide) and a working hypothesis is that local extirpations are due to increases in Mountain Lion numbers in those areas as lions will prey on them. I’ve seen some possible evidence of that in one location where lion numbers went up greatly since the 1990s and the porcupines I used to see there are now gone.
Woo hoo!!! More iNat in Texas!!! :)
Also, yes, please notify us (Texas Parks and Wildlife) about every critter that you see. ;)
Yeah, not the best advice to call in all your wildlife sightings to the local wildlife agency. Better to post on iNat.
Wow, how do they catch and kill them?
Apparently they go for the unprotected underbelly, but not without some risk.
I’m definitely calling you, Sam, if I see a wildlife! ;)
My boss is in Midlothian and had one in his yard last winter; I still haven’t seen or any sign in Dallas proper or out in Richardson (my area) but man oh man I’d love to see more of those guys. I miss them so bad from the panhandle
It’s always interesting to see one out on the High Plains with hardly a tree in sight.
Why is it that they don’t occur east of Texas? So strange to see that big blank spot on the map.
NICE! this can spark the conversation around here, and few ideas can be adapted too, thank you for sharing Tony! I am going to pass this along on my socia media.!
in Texas, folks say that west of I-35 is dry and east is humid. that roughly corresponds with the arid / humid climate boundary that historically has been at roughly the 100th meridian west. it’s been noted that dry has been shifting eastward in recent years, perhaps related to climate change, and that, in turn, could be related to porcupines moving eastward, too. dry / humid probably isn’t the whole answer, since it wouldn’t explain porcupine distribution at more northern latitudes, but that’s where i would start if i were looking for explanations.
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