Animals

Meet Lawrence

Lawrence the African crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) was abandoned at a farming supply auction but because an anonymous donor agreed to pay his ransom fee, he came to Noah’s Ark in the fall of 2015 at roughly 2 years old.  It is unclear how long Lawrence had been living in the small wire dog cage he arrived in, but due to his tendency to pace back and forth and chew on fencing, we believe he was confined to this tiny cage for quite some time.  Lawrence was clearly deprived of food and water, as he was ravenous and dehydrated upon arrival.  Lawrence was rescued with another porcupine named Quillber, and they get along quite well, even sharing a burrow for naps.  Lawrence is shyer and more easily startled than Quillber, and he also exhibits more abnormal behavior than his enclosure friend.  This is likely due to past neglect, mistreatment, or stress of being in an inappropriate captive environment. Although his stereotypical behaviors of pacing and cage biting will likely never completely disappear, these behaviors will continue to decrease over time now that he lives in a proper habitat with plenty of enrichment and care.