Prickly new arrival delights Burgers’ Zoo
Wednesday, 14 October 2026
A North American porcupine was born in the Desert at Royal Burgers’ Zoo on Friday night, 2 October 2026. The mother and her young initially stayed behind the scenes. The porcupette is being monitored continuously by zookeepers and biologists via camera, and it is weighed daily to confirm it is receiving sufficient milk. The young animal is thriving. On Wednesday, 14 October, both mother and young will be moved to an on-exhibit enclosure in the Desert.
The German-Polish formula for success
The porcupette’s father is from Gelsenkirchen Zoo (Germany), while the mother was born at Poznań Zoo (Poland). At two years and three months old, the mother is still quite young, and this is her first offspring. Sadly, the father died at the age of eight, but his legacy now lives on in Arnhem. The mother gave birth after a gestation period of seven months.
Close monitoring
The zookeepers and biologists at Burgers’ Zoo primarily monitor the situation via a camera that continuously observes the mother and her young. They can view the footage on a screen outside the enclosure to ensure the mother and her young are disturbed as little as possible. Weighing the porcupette daily helps monitor whether it is drinking enough and gaining enough body weight. Fortunately, the young animal appears to be in good health and is gaining weight steadily.
Mostly nocturnal tree-dwellers
North American porcupines are primarily nocturnal. Zookeepers and biologists have observed significantly more activity on the CCTV footage at night. The porcupette is still a bit unsteady on its feet but is busy exploring its enclosure. Things are going so well that on Wednesday, 14 October, the zookeepers will move the mother and her young into an on-exhibit enclosure in the Desert.
