The character and behavior of Fofo, a prehensile-tailed porcupette of Smithsonian's National Zoo are just like his name which, in Portuguese, means "cute."
As specified in a Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute report, this creature seems to "take after Beatrix, his mother." He is gentle, good-natured, and calm, not to mention, very laid-back. They have quite compatible traits.
Essentially, prehensile-tailed porcupines are nocturnal and thus, they are most active during the night. Most days, zoo visitors will see Fofo sleeping right next to Beatrix. At times, he ventures out and sleeps on a brunch, just beneath her.
Fofo is the fourth-gen of prehensile-tailed porcupines born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. He doesn't appear to mind interacting with keepers during the day when the latter brings them food, clean, or put enrichment items in their habitat. Fofo is described as very relaxed when being handled.
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A porcupine sits inside it's enclosure at the New Hope Centre, an animal refuge near Amman
Meet Fofo
The 'Cute' prehensile-tailed porcupette weighs roughly 3.3 pounds, and he is growing day after day. At birth, he weighed 382 grams or just below one pound.
To monitor his growth, he was weighed every day until he reached about 2.2 pounds. Now, he is weighed every other day.
Fofo's keepers said the positive interactions have helped build and maintain Fofo's trust in them. They added they want him to familiarize himself with being handled so that when the time comes for a medical exam, he'd feel comfortable and voluntarily take part in his own health care.
Typically, adult prehensile-tailed porcupines, as described on the Ambassador Animal website, weigh approximately 11 pounds. Fofo is expected to be full-grown by his first birthday.
The Food Fofo Eats
Currently, Fofo is still nursing. Typically, prehensile-tailed porcupettes start to wean at around 10 weeks of age. When he was roughly one month old his keepers found smears of food in his quills, an indication that he was examining the food pan of Beatrix overnight.
As part of their diet, the zoo's porcupines are given greens, "rodent chow," and an assortment of fruits and vegetables. Fofo is sampling food when Beatrix is offered treats.
So far, he appears to like the standard favorites of porcupines such as banana, corn kernels, nuts, papaya, and cooked sweet potato.
Both Beatrix and Fofo are given enrichment every day although the keepers cannot say for sure if he has taken an interest in it since they are active during the night when there's no one around to observe them. Generally, they favor enrichment items that have treats like wood feeders or boxes that they can forage through.
Help Protect This Species
Similar to the other species that are native to the South American forests, much of the prehensile-tailed porcupine's native habitat has been cleared for use in agriculture. There are ways to help protect this species, though, this report specified.
When purchasing furniture and other decors made of wood, check the item first if it is sustainable and does not contribute to deforestation before buying.
Moreover, the zoo is encouraging the public to spread the word by introducing their friends and loved ones to the Smithsonian National Zoo's prehensile-tiled porcupette, Fofo, together with the rest of his family including his Dad, Quillbur; his mom, Beatrix; and his grandmother, Bess. Fofo's family is introduced in a Washingtonian report.
Learning more about these animals and attaining an appreciation for them can inspire other people to think about the effect their everyday purchases can have on the planet shared with these porcupines.
Information about this prehensile-tailed porcupette is shown on the Smithsonian's National Zoo's YouTube video below:
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