Hystrix cristata
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata), also known as the African crested porcupine, is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae native to Italy, North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa and East Africa. Alongside the Cape porcupine, it is one of the largest porcupine species in the world. It is the only species of porcupine found in Europe.
The adult crested porcupine has an average head and body length around 60 to 83 cm (24 to 33 in) long, discounting the tail, and weighs from 13 to 27 kg (29 to 60 lb). It is one of the largest rodents in the world. Almost the entire body is covered with bristles which are either dark brown or black and rather coarse. This mammal is recognizable by the quills that run along the head, nape, and back that can be raised into a crest, hence the name crested porcupine. Also, some sturdier quills which are about 35 cm (14 in) in length run along the sides and back half of the body. These sturdier quills are used, for the most part, for defense and are usually marked with light and dark bands which alternate; these are not firmly attached. This porcupine has a short tail which has rattle quills at the end. The rattle quills... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rome | 🇮🇹 Italy |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Porcupine sighting in Rome on a given day, based on 44 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 8 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Porcupine in Rome on a given day, against under 5% in November, the lowest month.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crested Porcupine sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Rome, in our data
Rome is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Crested Porcupine sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Rodentia
The closest relatives of the Crested Porcupine that you can see in Rome (order Rodentia, Rodents) are Coypu (about 30%), Eurasian Red Squirrel (about 20%) and Brown Rat (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crested Porcupine is recorded against all the mammals logged in Rome (44 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
