Porcupine.

[Messor]

Is that when the porcupines jump through the fences?

Yep, AND they shoot spikes whiles in the air :)

In general, animals follow the path of least resistance, that means using holes already there to conserve energy. On a normal sheep farm only the border fences are jackal proof, that's because sheep are ridiculously stupid and the normal wire fences keep them in. Hence fences are not really made to keep sheep in, they are definitely made to keep other stuff out.

The best way of keeping jackal out is fences, you cant keep caracal out you shoot them. Porcupine does make holes but not nearly as often as pigs, so they are mostly not to blame for holes in outer fences.
Every lamb ewe you lose these days are about R2k a shot, jackal can take several per night, the end of year sums doesn't make for good reading. And since you are keeping predators out the human then become the natural predator , and HAVE to do that function.

As to the behavior T-stone took a picture of, all animals can use basking in the sun as a way of saving energy, meaning they burn less energy staying warm. Especially in times of drought when you spend huge amounts of energy digging up roots in hard ground.

In open terrain far from their burrows they do not have any defence against humans, since they are too slow. Before .22's we had to use knopkieries, crude but effective. Hunting with trained dogs are the easiest, but the training part is hard since pulling spines out of your dogs ain't fun.

Anyways, cool animals, I grew up just killing stuff, these days it's nice just looking at them as well.

[TStone]

Anyways, cool animals, I grew up just killing stuff, these days it's nice just looking at them as well.

Same here.

[A-R]

... Hunting with trained dogs are the easiest, but the training part is hard since pulling spines out of your dogs ain't fun.

Anyways, cool animals, I grew up just killing stuff, these days it's nice just looking at them as well.

Spines? Quills? My rooi taal is lacking here it seems.

I would rate it a sign of maturity, if you do not feel the urge to kill anything you see. Live and let live (as long as the gesture is reciprocated).

[Brendank]

Spines? Quills? My rooi taal is lacking here it seems.

I would rate it a sign of maturity, if you do not feel the urge to kill anything you see. Live and let live (as long as the gesture is reciprocated).

Quills A-R. But overall a good thing, live and let live

[Peter Wells]

We had an unusual sighting in northern Kruger a few months ago - family of dad, mom and three youngsters walking in single file (in that order) along the road. Very cute!

[264WinMag]

Hey T. Thank you for sharing. It's quite rare to see them during daylight.

They can be quite a pest where there are lots of crops, and they are remarkably excellent swimmers.

We also hunted them extensively in the free state where they would cause lots of damage to maize.

They can also become very tame and domesticated. You do get a heart attack when you walk to the fridge in the night and you think you stepped on 20 rattle snakes when they get a scare.

[dux]

except the concrete jungle.

During a neighbourhood watch all night patrol a couple of years back, I was parked on De Waal drive (at the speed camera above Roeland, for those in the know). At about 02:30 this porcupine came strolling down past the camera, turned into Vredehoek, and continued up through the streets, walking on the pavement and cutting through parks, until it got back onto the mountain. Just out for a walkabout.

Saw another a bit higher up (two roads down from the mountain edge) a few months before that too.

I fear though, with the fire we had across the front slopes that they/it might've been wiped out. Saw photo's of one that succumbed to the flames. Hopefully we'll get some more again soon.

[A-R]

During a neighbourhood watch all night patrol a couple of years back, I was parked on De Waal drive (at the speed camera above Roeland, for those in the know). At about 02:30 this porcupine came strolling down past the camera, turned into Vredehoek, and continued up through the streets, walking on the pavement and cutting through parks, until it got back onto the mountain. Just out for a walkabout.

Saw another a bit higher up (two roads down from the mountain edge) a few months before that too.

I fear though, with the fire we had across the front slopes that they/it might've been wiped out. Saw photo's of one that succumbed to the flames. Hopefully we'll get some more again soon.

They can cover huge distances every day in search of food. I would not be surprised to see the population on the little hill in the Cape restored in a short time.

They will often visit gardens in urban areas close to their natural habitat.