I think I'd rather take my chances with the rattle snake.
http://tinyurl.com/cqmdp
As long as you don't mess with a porcupine they are not going to hurt you.
P.S. Procupines smell really bad.
I imagine most wild critters who do not have handy access to hot water and soap smell a bit off... ;)
Now if we just had pictures of politicians in these circumstances >:D
ahh, reminds me of when i went camping in the white mountains, off the kanga, sleeping in my tent, with dan, all is quiet, and dark. Until headlights shine into the tent, and i hear a voice say, "Beth I need Help!" I was like what the heck? we jumped out of the tent to find my old rock climbing partner that we had previously in the afternoon had drinks with, with his dog, and yeah he slmost as bad as that dog! it was late at night, 12 or after. He and his gal tried to get intouch with a vet, but no luck, i was the closest thing, i am a retired vet tech, and have never seen anything like it. we dont have those nasty creatures back where i come from! so, we got a sleeping bad, Dan, brett, and his gal held poor rocky, a brown german pointer lab cross, held him to the ground, while i grabbed pliers and removed most of them. it was crazy, they were in very deep. in his tongue and all. I debated taking them out, risking infection, but as i was watching the dog, he was pawing at his face, and i didnt want to risk an eye injury or pushing them in farther. I have never herd a dog scream like that. porcupine spines are like barbs, they go in very easy, but have microscopic hooks all over them, making it nearly impossible to remove them. usually at the vets they sedatet the animal, and take them out. I had some antibiotics with me, gave the dog a dose, told the owner when to next give pills, and told him he owes me a $75 emergency visit fee, $55 dollar after hours fee, $20 for the pills, and $65 for my services, Dan holding down the dog was free! Im kidding i didnt charge him, but if he went to a vet, thats what he would have paid plus sedating the dog. I recommend a vet doing this because they can give shots of antibiotics, there are germs all over the quills, and nevermind that the dog has deep puncture wounds. He called his vet in the morning, explained what happened, and they said just watch for more that were buried too deep to be visible. The dog is now more careful about sniffing things! What a shock it must have been!!
I always have memorable trips to the mountains of the free state!!