Here’s your chance to meet a porcupine at Singapore Zoo’s Hello From the Wild programme. We had a chance to meet a prickly teen called Thunder and he is definitely loud when crunching nuts and showing us what he wants.
Singapore Zoo’s Hello From The Wild programme lets visitors get hands-on with feeding, even petting and learning more from the keepers who personally care for the animal. Adding to the capybara and fallabella experiences is the latest porcupine edition.
Hello From The Wild: Porcupine Edition
Since I had a prickly teen at home, I took him to meet his wilder counterpart – Thunder the Indian Crested Porcupine. Who’s got more attitude? We were about to find out.
Thunder’s keepers Halim and Gillian were there to pepper us with more facts about the Indian Crested Porcupine species as well as Thunder’s story. Porcupines are rodents and live across many environments like rocky hillsides, dense forests, scrublands and agricultural areas.
Thunder was actually outcasted by a group hence he was raised as a solitary porcupine and also quite used to human beings around him. That said, he used to be a rather introverted chap and it took much positive reinforcement to get him to come up close with strangers eager to meet him.
The large rodent has an armour of modified keratin hairs that helps as its primary defence against predators like serval cats. The quills on its body are not the ones that are lethal. It’s the sharp capsule-like quills on its tail that can give predators and unwelcome creatures a painful warning.
Meeting Thunder the Porcupine: Feeding and Petting
Obviously we did not want to rattle the shy creature. We had to enter and be seated on the bench and await the arrival of Thunder. Since he was a wild animal, he chose whether to meet and greet his visitors or just play it cool. Halim the keeper gently coaxed Thunder to the area where his new friends were seated patiently by using a clicker and snacks.
We got the chance to feed Thunder with corn, carrots and snacks placed on our palms. Meeting Thunder was such a treat as we could see his majestic quills and observe how he sniffed and nibbled on his treats.
He was also given walnuts to crack. You could hear the loud crunch and his powerful teeth working to break the shells.
My teen was certainly amused at how the keeper interacts with Thunder. A high-pitched voice is needful and some babytalk clearly helped guide Thunder to where he was supposed to be. Would that work on my own teen? I shall find out.
After everyone in the group took turns feeding Thunder, we could try to pet him. We could pet his head or rub his neck and even try rubbing his armpits.
Our Thoughts Post-Porcupine Meetup
After feeding and petting Thunder, it was supposedly time for photo-taking with him. When I meant supposedly, I meant it was really up to the animal. After one picture with my teen and I, Thunder decided he had enough.
I totally understand the social bandwidth of introverts and so he did what any reserved teen would do – walk away in the direction of his burrows.
If you ever get to meet a porcupine, don’t expect it to behave as it is told!
We truly enjoyed the Hello from the Wild session. Even my teen smiled cooperatively in the pictures. Younger children could find the porcupine a slightly intimidating creature but this rodent is a majestic sight to behold!
Details of Hello from the Wild: Porcupine Edition
This 20-minute session runs every Wednesday and Friday from 3.15 pm to 3.35 pm. To ensure everyone’s comfort and safety, participants wear closed-toed shoes during the activity.
Pricing:
Public: $53.00 per person
WildPass Holders (10% off weekdays, excluding Public Holidays): S$47.70 per person
Friends of Mandai Members (20% off): S$42.40 per person
Where: Animal Behaviour and Enrichment Centre
Booking Link: Hello from the Wild Porcupine edition
