Washington’s 516 porcupine records lean east but reach the coast: Spokane County leads with 145, followed by Whitman and Grant, while Pacific County holds 37 west of the crest. Steptoe Butte, Riverside State Park, the Pasayten Wilderness, and Potholes mark the spread from Palouse hills to north-country forest.
A walking pincushion that climbs
The porcupine is North America’s second-largest rodent after the beaver, covered in tens of thousands of barbed quills that detach on contact, though the animal cannot throw them. It is an able if unhurried climber, spending long stretches in trees and feeding on buds, leaves, and, through winter, the inner bark of conifers, which can leave conspicuously gnawed patches high in the crown. A famous craving for salt draws porcupines to sheds, plywood, tool handles, and anything touched by sweaty hands.
Out in every season
Porcupines do not hibernate. They den in rock piles, hollow logs, or thick conifers during the worst weather but come out to feed in every month, and Washington’s record bears that out with reports logged in all twelve. Slow and well defended, a porcupine that feels safe simply turns its quilled back and keeps eating.
Status in Washington
The porcupine is native to Washington, and USGS NAS does not list it as nonindigenous in the state. It is not specifically listed under Washington’s state-level conservation framework, and the IUCN lists it globally as Least Concern.
Full species profile
