Texas mammals

North American Porcupine in Texas

Erethizon dorsatus

Native to Texas

Not listed as nonindigenous in Texas by USGS NAS; treated as native to its mapped Texas range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Erethizontidae Erethizon dorsatum 3.2North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)
Photo: NasserHalaweh · CC BY-SA 4.0Erethizontidae Erethizon dorsatum 3.2Photo: John Krampl · CC BY 4.0North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)Photo: Roland Kays · CC0North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)Photo: webohms · CC BY 4.0North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)

North American Porcupine in Texas, by the numbers

Common in Texas 22nd most recorded of 197 mammals logged in Texas

2,493 occurrence records
2,285 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 7, 2026 Last seen in Texas

Records from 2000–2026.

2,493 total records count every Texas occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 2,484 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the North American Porcupine in Texas

Most sightings fall in April to November.

2,484 Texas occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Texas records (table)
MonthRecords
January128
February138
March169
April233
May216
June212
July209
August260
September260
October300
November227
December132

Monthly north american porcupine occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Texas, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Texas, with recorded sightings peaking in April–November.

Occurrence map

Where North American Porcupine has been recorded in Texas

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Texas records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Palo Duro Canyon State Park 33
South Llano River State Park 27
Amistad National Recreation Area 21
Enchanted Rock State Natural Area 17
Pedernales Falls State Park 14
Guadalupe River State Park 13
Permanent University Fund 11
San Angelo State Park 9

Protected places with the most north american porcupine sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Texas

CountyRecords
Travis County 266
Bexar County 145
Tom Green County 139
Comal County 108
Hays County 107
Val Verde County 99
Edwards County 86
Kendall County 85
Kerr County 85
Blanco County 83
Burnet County 69
Kimble County 66
124 other counties 1,155

The complete county distribution, spread across 136 Texas counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

North American porcupines are slow-moving, mostly nocturnal, and depend on trees for both food and shelter, gnawing bark and stripping twigs through the colder months. Texas sightings track that need for trees closely: Caddo National Grasslands and the wooded corridors along the Brazos and Trinity rivers thread through the Blackland Prairie’s grassland like green ribbons, giving a bark-eating, tree-climbing animal the cover an open prairie can’t provide on its own.

Records climb through the year and peak in October, right as porcupines shift into heavier browsing ahead of winter. Texas carries no NatureServe rank for the species, but it’s tracked as native and isn’t listed as nonindigenous by USGS, and its occurrence data lands in the common range among Texas mammals, at the 89th percentile.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist.

North American Porcupine in other states

View all states →

Erethizontidae Erethizon dorsatum 3.2
Full species profile North American Porcupine Erethizon dorsatus Size 60–90 cm2–3 ft Weight 3.5–12 kg7.7–26.5 lb Lifespan Up to 23.4 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Texas in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"