ALTA, Utah – There’s nothing scarier than a ferocious animal on the slopes of your favorite ski resort. Personally I would not want to get too close to a porcupine, even if it seemed friendly. I’ve seen what they can do to my dog, I don’t want that to happen to my leg. But this one just walked right up to a skier and bit down on his leg, latching on hard enough to be lifted off the ground.
Porcupines don’t usually use biting as a defense mechanism, typically relying on their quills instead. But they do have a pretty powerful jaw with large, Â enamel-surfaced cheek-teeth so they can chew on and eat tree wood. Male porcupines will use their teeth and quills when fighting each other, though.