Nine-month-old prehensile-tailed porcupine, Mocha, recently made her home in My Big Backyard and is turning heads with her captivating snoot and unique tail. Prehensile-tailed porcupines are native to the forests of Central and South America, making their homes high up in the treetops. True to their name, prehensile-tailed porcupines have a prehensile tail, which means they can grasp tree branches and hang solely by their muscular tail.
Mocha was given her name by her keepers because of her mocha-colored quills and to promote sustainable coffee. Using sustainable coffee helps protect the native habitat of the prehensile-tailed porcupine.
Mocha is still young, but she has already developed a sweet disposition and gently takes food from her keepers during training sessions. She is curious, smart, eager and already excels in husbandry behaviors such as target training, crate training and scale training. Mocha also lets her keepers touch her, which is foundational as they develop a trusting relationship and expand her training to include regular health checks in the future.