Golden Showers of Love
Male porcupines woo females by standing on their hind legs and spraying them with urine from up to 6 feet away.
Covered in 30,000 sharp quills, porcupines face obvious challenges when it comes to mating. Their courtship ritual is as unusual as you'd expect — and involves a lot of urine.
When a female porcupine is ready to mate (she's only receptive for 8-12 hours per year), males compete fiercely for her attention. The courtship involves:
1. Nose rubbing — males approach cautiously and rub noses with the female 2. The urine shower — if she's interested, the male stands on his hind legs and sprays her with urine from as far as 6 feet away 3. Vocalizations — males make high-pitched whines and wails 4. More urine — sometimes lots more
If the female is receptive, she'll eventually lift her tail (moving the quills out of the way) and allow mating. The male's underside is relatively soft, but positioning is still delicate work.
Once mating is complete, the male leaves and has no further involvement. The female will give birth to a single baby (called a porcupette) after about 7 months. The baby is born with soft quills that harden within hours.
Despite the bizarre courtship, porcupine mating is relatively gentle — very different from the violent encounters seen in some other species.