Porcupine Fends off 17 Lions

Porcupine Fends off 17 Lions. When the going gets tough, the prickly get going—especially in the case of a plucky porcupine that recently fended off 17 lions in South Africa’s Londolozi Game Reserve.

In late October, wildlife guide Lucien Beaumont came across the pride of big cats, including some youngsters, milling around an object of interest.

“To my surprise, it was a rather unfortunate porcupine surrounded by 13 lion

[esses] and four male lions. This is not an ideal place to be, especially if you feature on the menu of a lion!” he wrote on his blog. (Also see “Mongoose Fends Off Lions: Explaining Viral Video.”)

Beaumont began filming the encounter between the predators and prey, one “I have been hoping, dreaming and imagining for many years,” Beaumont wrote.

Despite being heavily outnumbered, the fearless rodent more than holds its own, flaring its quills and moving aggressively toward the lions, who eventually seem to decide that their curiosity isn’t worth getting skewered. (Are you a fan of big cats? Participate in National Geographic’s upcoming Google+ Hangout for Big Cat Week on December 3 at 1 p.m. ET.)

National Geographic spoke with Kristina Smith, a keeper at the Oregon Zoo’s Africa Area, who said the species in the video is likely an African crested porcupine, a few of which live at the zoo.

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