It’s not every day that Disney’s Animal Kingdom welcomes a new arrival, but that’s exactly what happened earlier this year! A baby porcupine, known as a porcupette, was born on February 25 but it wasn’t until last week that her birth was announced. Thankfully, the wait for the news was worth it because she’s the cutest thing ever.
- Disney’s Dr. Mark Penning showed her off to the world for the first time. Penning, who’s the Vice President at Disney Animals, Science, and Environment posted a photo and video of the female baby porcupine on his Instagram account on March 25. Animal lovers everywhere immediately began commenting and congratulating Animal Kingdom on its adorable new addition.
- The baby porcupine still doesn’t have a name. Her mom, Peri, was previously seen on TV as part of the One Day At Disney broadcast, so the baby was basically born into stardom. However, whoever is in charge of naming her still hasn’t decided on the right name for her, so at the moment, she’s just chilling anonymously, I guess.
- Fun fact: quills determine gender. In Penning’s post, he explained how all baby porcupines are born with a “fine red coat” and that their quills begin to harden in the hours after birth. In addition, it’s the quills they use to determine the porcupette’s gender! They send a few quills off to a lab and sex determination is figured out there. Pretty cool, eh?
- Disney parks may be closed but the baby porcupine is getting plenty of care. While the public may not currently be able to visit Animal Kingdom or any other Disney park, there are still staff around to ensure all the animals are getting the love and care they need. Rest assured the little one will be well-looked after and having lots of fun too.
