The National Zoo’s spiniest residents make a perfect pair, even if the new gentleman is a little shy. Photo: Will Tran.
Romance has bloomed in the National Zoo and Aquarium’s spikiest enclosure, as two very special porcupines settle into coupled life.
This love story began late last year with the arrival of male Cape porcupine ”Mwiba” all the way from Auckland, New Zealand. He joined the zoo’s female Cape porcupine, ”Louie”, in early January, and zookeeper Jemma Walsh says it was love at first sight.
“Louie was really excited and ran right up to cuddle Mwiba. He was a bit shocked, but went, ‘OK, this is happening, that’s fine’, and now they’re practically inseparable,” Jemma says.
“Mwabi is a shy boy, but Louie is slowly bringing him out of his shell. They happily snuggle up and share a bed — though Louie still pulls rank during treat time to secure the tastiest morsels.”
Cape porcupines are native to central and southern Africa, and are the largest members of the porcupine family.
They’re monogamous, which means they mate for life. Great news for these little lovers.
At the zoo, Louie and Mwiba’s diet consists of fruits and veggies. Their favourite mains include potato, pumpkin, cauliflower and squash — but carrots make great treats, as do peanuts, bananas, corn and rockmelon.
Contrary to popular belief, porcupines cannot shoot their quills. Instead, they’ll puff up and back their quills into a threat — but only if freezing first doesn’t work.
Being rodents, these two will try to eat just about anything, so keepers work hard to deliver enrichment items that are robust yet fun.
“If we want something to last, it needs to be made of metal or very hard plastic,” Jemma says.
“But things they can destroy are super fun. They love shredding cardboard boxes. Louie loved Christmas; she got lots of Christmas paper and spread it from one end of the yard to the other.”
Rodent teeth continually grow, so Louie and Mwiba are regularly given cuttlefish cartilage and branches to strip the bark from. Jemma says plum branches are always a hit.
“If our sun bears get coconuts with dinner, we’ll also repurpose the husks for them to play with. They’re surprisingly strong and will rip those husks to shreds.
“They’re both big fans of ice blocks as well, which was a funny little surprise for us all. Louie, in particular, loves taking one to bed.”
Cape porcupines are classified as being of least concern in the wild. This is great news, but as with the vast majority of African species, their numbers are still in decline overall.
“Coming to see Louie and Mwiba helps support conservation efforts for Cape porcupines as well as their bigger neighbours here at the zoo, including our cheetahs and tigers,” Jemma says.
“This week is Porcupine Week, so we’ll be running keeper talks every morning to show off the new couple and teach guests about their species. Come along if you want to see them up close and enjoying some tasty treats.”
Louie and Mwiba can be found on display in the National Zoo’s walkthrough section, next to the Tammar wallabies and Moo the emu. Their habitat is also part of Jungle Bungalow 3 at Jamala Wildlife Lodge.
Keen to see Louie and Mwiba in person? Visit the National Zoo and Aquarium at 999 Lady Denman Drive, Yarralumla.
