How do porcupines mate?
“You would probably think the answer is very carefully, but you would probably be wrong. The answer is more improbable and much more bizarre than that.” “Mating occurs in November or December. While females at the peak of receptivity would accept any male, males required a period of close association with the females before they could mate with them. The male makes sexual contact from behind the female. The spines of both animals were relaxed and lay flat. His thrusts are of the “usual nature” and were produced by flexing and straightening the knees. Males do not grasp the female in any way. Mating occurred until the male was exhausted. Each time he broke away from the female she would re-establish contact. One younger female made grunting whines throughout. If males refused to co-operate, the female approached a nearby male and acted out the male role in coition with the uninvolved male.
