A Brazilian porcupine born last month at the San Diego Zoo will be joining her mother as a wildlife ambassador and will participate in educational presentations, officials said Tuesday.
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In the wild, the animals spend most of their lives in trees in tropical forests in South Africa, using curved claws and prehensile tails to grab onto branches to anchor themselves.
The zoo’s unnamed baby porcupine — also called a porcupette — was born June 22 to parents Gracie and Picante. She has reddish-orange fur that she’ll shed as she matures, and short, barbed quills.
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The species is not considered endangered in the wild, falling into the “least concerned” category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Zoo officials said the plan is to have the baby join her mom as an ambassador in presentations at Wildlife Explorers Basecamp and Animals in Action, an interactive tour.
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