‘Squirrel nest’ in tree was really large, prickly Texas rodent that you should avoid

Blending in is almost impossible when you’re one of the country’s largest and most intimidating rodents.

But that’s just what happened in Texas, when a wildlife biologist reported a “squirrel nest” in a tree turned out to be an animal few people want to encounter on the ground.

“We’ve all seen them, those squirrel nests up in the trees, particularly noticeable during the winter months,” the state’s Texas Nature Trackers program posted this month on Facebook.

“The other day, TNT Biologist Craig Hensley was out and about and walked past what at first looked very much like just another squirrel nest. Lo and behold, a second look revealed this ‘nest’ was anything but!”

Hensley took photos of the bristly porcupine seated comfortably between branches, and they have been shared hundreds of times on Facebook.

Among those who took notice is the Texas Parks and Wildlife department which warned: “Take a closer look at your trees – there might be a porcupine up there.”

Porcupine quills are “needle-sharp” and it’s estimated as many as 140 grow “from each square inch of skin,” according to the department. “Only the nose, legs, and underside are unprotected. The rest of the body, from eyebrow to tail tip, is covered with prickly spines.”

Many commenters on social media admitted not realizing porcupines were climbers. Several said they wouldn’t have recognized it, either.

“I just thought it was an extra large burr, shifting in the breeze,” one person wrote.

“Lord, I hope I don’t have any in my trees,” another posted. “With my luck, one would come down into the yard and I’d end up at the emergency vet for quill removals from my dogs!”

Porcupines are known to show up in trees in the winter, “feasting on twigs and bark,” the state says.

More human-porcupine encounters have been reported in the past decade in Texas, due to the rodents expanding their territory into the central and eastern parts of the state, according to the Texas Non-game Program. Their traditional turf is “in northern and western Texas.”

Porcupines weigh up to 30 pounds and are typically not aggressive to humans, but they “are attracted to humans” in part because they love “anything salty, like our perspiration,” Texas Hill Country reports.

“No matter what you call them: ‘Quill pig,’ ‘Prickle Pig, or, more commonly, a porcupine, these Texas rodents pose a real danger to your favorite four-legged family members,” Texas Hill Country says. “Their quills are their defense and, man alive, do they work!”