Pokey
Not the most unique name for a porcupine but definitely one of the most unique stories I have ever heard!
On April 10th, 2019 I got a call that kinda made me stop and pause to wonder if this was real or not! I was totally STUNNED!!! A wonderful woman called to let me know that her husband had accidentally hit a porcupine and got out of his truck to move the body to the side of the road. (Side Note: This is THE BEST thing to do!!! The animal is already dead but scavengers may try to feed on the body in the road and also get hit and killed. Please SAFELY move dead animals off the road.)
The story gets EXCITING!
The gentleman notices as he was moving the body that the nipples were enlarged and he felt even worse, thinking he killed a mother and leaving a baby orphaned. Then he noticed her stomach was MOVING!!! She had not even given birth yet! The man ran to his truck and got a knife and right on the side of the road cut into the dead mother and removed a very lively porcupette. He was a little premature and having such a rough start to his life we were going to do everything we could to make sure the rest only gets better from here!
Growing Fast
He was born under the lowest "normal" birth weight so we knew he was early so we started him on two days of colostrum to hopefully give his system a boost. Being fed every two hours around the clock definitely was keeping me tired but he sure was worth it! At 3 weeks old he had already doubled his birth weight and growing strong. He is completely thriving better than I ever thought possible given his rough start. A big thank you to the amazing gentleman for saving this tiny life!
Release
Finally by the end of July Pokey was ready to explore the world on his own. It was a great site to see him venture out without another thought of being in a cage again.
Enjoying Freedom
It did not take long for him to start munching on the greenery around him.
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