Local ODFW office calls for public’s help tracking down porcupines as part of new 2-year project
Harley Coldiron
(Update: Adding video)
PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) — Right now, Oregon Fish and Wildlife’s Ochoco Office in Prineville is asking the public to report any porcupine sightings or encounters, as it begins a two-year project to learn more about the elusive mammal’s population, habits, and ecosystem.
The population of these large rodents with coats of quills has dramatically dropped over the years, and nobody is quite sure why.
“They’re an unprotected mammal in Oregon right now. So, unfortunately, we don’t have many population metrics on them, and there’s very little known about their life history,” Mikayla Bivona, acting assistant wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) Ochoco District in Prineville told KTVZ News in an interview.
Bivona says the Porcupine Project aims to change that, but first they need your help finding the elusive sharp-spined swimmers, “They are pretty hard to find, unfortunately”.
If you see or believe there may be a porcupine in your area, Bivona asks that you either call their Ochoco Office at 541-591-1629 or submit their reporting form, which can be found here.
Once found, Bivona says her and other ODFW biologists will put trackers on them, similar to what you see on some wolves and deer, “So they’ll just get a really cute, tiny version of that, and then we’ll get GPS points to track their habitat, use. We’re going to be doing diet analysis, cause of mortality”.
Project Porcupine is already seeing success. They’ve found six so far, and those numbers are growing fast. “They’ve all had babies, a few of them. So when we get a little porcupette, which is the name of a baby porcupine, it’s really exciting,” Bivona said.
Besides reporting any porcupines you or your pets may encounter, ODFW is also looking for proactive volunteers who want to track down porcupines themselves. Training sessions will be held with the High Desert Museum once volunteers have signed up.
Sign up to volunteer by clicking here.
Report any porcupine sightings or encounters by clicking here.