Common Porcupine
Coendou prehensilis 
Makushi name: Aru 
Creole name: Hedge Hog, Pimpla Hog 
Size: body=40 cm; tail=30 cm; weight=2 kg 
Description: Stocky with a bulbous snout, and small eyes; body conspicuously covered with rounded, stiff, barbed quills with pale yellowish tips, lending the animal a greyish-white cast when seen from a distance; face white with pink nose and lips. Short, muscular tail is prehensile (grasping), naked on top near the tip and curls backwards, grasping with the upper surface. Another species, the dwarf porcupine (Coendou melaneura) is smaller and darker and has long dark hairs that partially cover its spines. 
Activity: Nocturnal (sometimes active in late afternoon), arboreal. 
Habits: Solitary. Feeds on seeds, fruits, and young leaves. Typically slow and deliberate, but can move quickly. During the day it rests in hollow tree dens or sits quietly on a tree branch in the canopy. Usually silent, calls include a long moan. 
Habitat: Primary or secondary lowland forest. 
Signs: It has a characteristic, strong odour that can be used to locate the animal and identify its den, which often contain piles of droppings. 
Status: Has not been recorded from Iwokrama, but almost certainly occurs in the forest