Common in the montane and subalpine forests of the region, the “quill pig” has been able to thrive because his potential predators can seldom discover that the only way to kill him, is to flip him over on his back and rip open his belly. Many interested animals, however, come away from a porky contact with a face or skin full of painful quills. Porcupine protect themselves by quick erection of masses of quills and by swift defensive swings of the spiny tail. These quills number up to 35,000 on a single animal. They spend most of their time clinging high in the tree branches, feeding on the green foliage and the inner bark of pine trees. This accounts for the yellow “bare” patches sometimes seen on tree trunks. However, they have a strong predilection for anything containing even a fraction of salt; they will eat boots, axe handles, gun stocks, outhouse wood, and parts of buildings—anything where human perspiration has left a salty deposit. Porcupines, as well as smaller rodents, devour many elk and deer antlers left in the woods. They have a strange assortment of guttural sounds and cries which are sometimes heard at night. These uncanny noises emitting from the dark create interesting possibilities for more imaginative minds. The highly controversial question of porcupine mating is solved when we understand that the female has the muscular power of pulling in her quills closely to the body contour, permitting normal mating procedure. The single young is born in well-developed condition, but still enclosed in a membranous sack.
MARMOT (Marmota flaviventris luteola)
A medium sized western woodchuck having a variable shade of reddish-brown fur and a dark brown tail. Has a small band of white across the face. Total length up to 2½ feet and weight up to 20 pounds. They are 2 or 3 times larger than ground squirrels.
Marmots or “whistle pigs” as they are often called, are among the most easily observed mammals in the Rockies. They are found everywhere, particularly in rocky slides, boulder, and cliff areas from the Park boundary up to the tops of the highest peaks. Most of the parking area “feeding grounds” on the Trail Ridge Road contain their share of marmots, which ordinarily feed on seeds, flowers, and grasses. They are a socially-minded animal, often living in small communities and posting a sentinel to give a high, shrill whistle at the first sign of danger. When sufficiently fattened in the fall, they find a snug hole in the rocks and drop off in the slow, deep sleep of the “true” hibernators.
ABERT SQUIRREL (Sciurus aberti ferreus)
A large, heavy-bodied tree squirrel with a long, bushy tail. Has 3 distinct color phases; gray, dark brown, and black, all of which are common in the Park. Has long ear-tufts which are shed in the spring and grown out again by fall. Total length 20 inches.
Of the two kinds of tree squirrels in the Park, the aristocratic-appearing abert or tufted-ear squirrel is predominant in the montane or yellow pine valleys and ridges. They feed on the fine branches of yellow pine and on pine cone seeds. Their large, bulky nests of twigs and pine needles are placed high in the trees and are difficult to locate.
CHICKAREE (Sciurus fremonti fremonti)
A small, alert tree squirrel with back and sides a grayish-rust color; white underparts. Tail is white fringed. Distinguished from the abert squirrel by smaller size and the narrow white line around the eye. Total length is 13 inches. Formerly known as Fremont’s squirrel.
This little chickaree or pine squirrel (as he is often called) is the chattering “alarm box” of the spruce-fir forests. They prefer the cool, denser, subalpine forests well above the range of the tufted-ear squirrel. Feeding chiefly on seeds of evergreen cones, they often leave great heaps of cone debris at their feeding places. The cones they bury for future use are often neglected and young seedling trees may thus spring up about their storage areas.