Indian crested porcupine
Hystrix indica
ariellebh · Jerusalem
Key facts in one look
- Size
- Body 45.5–93 cm, 8–27 kg
- Diet
- Bulbs, roots, grain, fruit
- Status in Georgia
- Native, far southeast only
- Habitat
- Steppe, rocky hillsides
- Family
- Hystricidae
- Conservation
- LC / LC
The Indian crested porcupine is a big, heavy rodent: it weighs 8–27 kg and its back carries quills 30–40 cm long, banded brown and white. When threatened it raises its quills and rattles the hollow quills at the tip of its tail. It was once unknown in Georgia's fauna and was discovered relatively recently in the far southeast of the country, including the Chachuna steppes. It is strictly nocturnal and spends the day in a burrow or cave. If you see one at night, watch from a distance and keep your dog away.
Identification
Indian crested porcupine: how to identify it
A large, stocky, short-legged rodent with a back covered in long banded quills. A crest of coarse brown bristles runs from the head to the shoulders and can be raised. The tail is short and almost hidden among the quills. In Georgia you will not mistake it for any other animal.
Head and body 45.5–93 cm, tail 6–17 cm, weight 8–27 kg. Males and females look alike. The feet are broad and built for digging.
The back quills are 30–40 cm long, each with alternating brown and white bands, and the long ones have white tips. A crest of brown bristles over 30 cm long runs from the head to the shoulders. The shoulders, flanks and belly are covered in coarse blackish-brown bristles, and a white line shows along the rump.
The tail ends in short, wide, white hollow quills. When it shakes its tail, these quills rattle. When threatened it also raises its back quills. This is a warning: do not approach such an animal.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
It is mainly an animal of steppe and semi-desert, but adapts to many other places, including farmland and settlements. It favours rocky hillsides, open country and ravines, and in the mountains climbs to 3900 m. It spends the day in a natural cave or a burrow it digs itself. The burrow tunnels go down as deep as 2.5 m, and the main tunnel runs for more than 10–16 m, ending in a deep living chamber. A family may use such a burrow for decades. In Georgia it has been found in the far southeast of the country, including the Chachuna steppes.
The Indian crested porcupine map combines public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Record counts reflect observation effort rather than population density. One region has enough records: Kakheti.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Region with records
It is a plant-eater that makes good use even of sparse vegetation. Its main food is underground plant parts: tubers, bulbs, rhizomes and roots, which it digs up with its feet. It also eats grain and fruit and strips bark from trees at ground level. It gnaws bones, horns and antlers. The pits it digs loosen the soil and increase plant abundance and diversity.
It is strictly nocturnal. At night it travels 2–8 km, and its home range averages about 1.5 km². In winter it keeps to dark nights and avoids bright moonlight, and rain cuts its activity. It lives alone or in family groups. It does not range north of about 44°: it needs nights of at least 7 hours to find enough food. It is monogamous. Litters have 1–4 young, born in a chamber lined with grass or leaves. Newborns have open eyes and soft, short quills, and within hours they move about nimbly. For the first three months the father also cares for them, doing everything the mother does except nursing.
Globally the Indian crested porcupine is Least Concern (LC, 2021). In Georgia the 2021 national assessment also lists it as Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. It is widespread in western and southern Asia, from the eastern Mediterranean to India and Sri Lanka, and north to Transcaucasia and southern Dagestan. In Russia it lives only in southern Dagestan and is listed in the Red Data Books of the Russian Federation and of Dagestan. In Georgia it is at the northern edge of its range.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes, but only in the far southeast of the country. The species was once unknown in Georgia's fauna and was discovered relatively recently, including in the Chachuna steppes. Georgia lies at the northern edge of its range. It is nocturnal, so it is rarely seen.
It does not attack. When threatened it raises its quills and rattles the hollow quills of its tail, which is a warning. The back quills are 30–40 cm long and stiff. If you meet one, watch from a distance and keep your dog away.
Plants, mostly their underground parts: tubers, bulbs and roots, which it digs up with its feet. It also eats grain and fruit and strips bark from trees. It gnaws bones and horns too. In many countries it damages crops.
It is a warning. The tail ends in short, white, hollow quills that knock together and rattle when it shakes its tail. At the same time it raises its back quills. If you hear this sound, back away slowly.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
