6 July 2019



Hate sharing your flat with a room-mate? Maybe you should take a few lessons from the Indian crested porcupine which shares its burrow with 22 different species, including birds and reptiles.

Porcupines are known to be great engineers, and their burrows can go up to 13 metres in length with a number of side chambers of varying depths. A study conducted by researchers from the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History in Coimbatore used camera traps to understand the complex co-habitation.

At the study site of Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, Rajasthan (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the temperatures can vary from 0.5 degrees Celsius to as high as 50 degree Celsius. So, burrows play an important role in giving refuge and protection against the weather and predators.

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