Porcupine Sighting

[Photo-John]

Wildlife isn't a normal photo subject for me. But give me the opportunity and I'll give it a shot. This weekend I was up in the mountains doing a little ski touring when I happened by this guy, way up a tree. Luckily, I had the Samsung Galaxy Camera in my pocket. It's got a 21x optical zoom lens so I had no trouble getting in pretty tight. It also didn't hurt that he (or she), was absolutely unconcerned about my presence





Thanks for looking!

[f86sabjf]

I like it John . Never got to see one in the wild before

[armando_m]

Awesome encounter !

[mattb]

Yeah, they know nothing wants to mess with them! I saw one in the trail when skiing Snowbird once. They are pretty common around here too and similarly unconcerned.
The photos aren't bad considering the it's a P&S.

[Photo-John]

The photos aren't bad considering the it's a P&S.

I agree. Looking at them up close they're definitely a little on the mushy side. But I think they'd actually print up just fine. I had the Sony NEX-7 in my pack but I was too lazy to get it out and the zoom on the Samsung is very nice. Because it's so long I was actually able to move farther away and uphill to put the mountains in the background in the second image. That's something you can't do by zooming with your feet

Porcupines really don't have any natural enemies, do they? I don't know how another animal would kill one. I certainly wouldn't want to mess with one. A few weeks ago a porcupine accosted a friend of ours in the lift line at Alta. He / she was actually nibbling on her ski pants. There are a bunch of photos. They're pretty funny. Kinda weird, though. Any close contact with wild animals makes me nervous because they aren't supposed to want to be close to you.

[SmartWombat]

I didn't realise the critters climbed trees!
I've only seen pictures of them on the ground before.

Those two photos, I'd have taken the first, the second is what I think of as a P-J photo
Put the subject against a mountain background.
I suppose I'd have thought of it eventually, "what would P-J do?"

Yes, it's not a DSLR or even a bridge camera quality - but I'd accept that against not getting a shot.

[Photo-John]

Those two photos, I'd have taken the first, the second is what I think of as a P-J photo
Put the subject against a mountain background.
I suppose I'd have thought of it eventually, "what would P-J do?"

Background and foreground are often what make the difference between a "nice" photo and a great photo! I'm not saying either one of these is great. But I'm always looking for ways to incorporate a good background

[mattb]

Background and foreground are often what make the difference between a "nice" photo and a great photo! I'm not saying either one of these is great. But I'm always looking for ways to incorporate a good background

Agreed! If you can get a good foreground, mid-ground, and background all in one shot with great light and a compelling subject (in focus of course) you have yourself a winner!
The 300mm manual lens I got last year has really helped me with those kinds of shots where you have something like a mountain or the moon looming larger than life in the background. Those shots can be a little tougher to set up and require a different kind of look at your scene to see them right. But they can be fun and make people say "wow" or "that is Photoshopped for sure!".

[mn shutterbug]

Nice find and nice capture. I haven't seen a porcupine in many years. They are quite common in northern MN and they tend to stay high up in trees. They do have 1 natural enemy and that is the fisher. They know how to get them on their back and get at the belly meat. I saw this once on a wildlife show. it was quite amazing. I tried to find one a couple years ago at a state park. I was told where one had been seen quite regularly and I might have seen it way up in the tree, but in the overcast light, it looked like a dark blob.

[Photo-John]

They do have 1 natural enemy and that is the fisher. They know how to get them on their back and get at the belly meat.

Thanks for looking and thanks for the info about the fisher. I did a quick Google search to confirm that the fisher was a relative of the weasel and found a little more info. Apparently they attack the porcupine from the front where it isn't as able to protect itself. Not sure if we have fishers here in Utah. I'm guessing not.

[mattb]

I've heard mountain lions can flip them over to eat them too.