Porcupines are known to injure dogs when they encounter each other, but instead of fearing the porcupine, this wiener dog makes one his best friend.
Diablo, the porcupine, has been hand-reared by zookeeper Estelle Morgan since his mother rejected him at Cotswold Wildlife Park in Oxfordshire, England.
When Diablo was only a few days old, Morgan took him in to increase his chances of survival. She introduced the baby porcupine to her puppy, a dachshund named Fig. Morgan is hoping that by introducing the animals to each other, Diablo will experience some essential social interactions with Fig to help with his development. Little did she know, the two quickly became best friends.
According to Morgan, the porcupine and dog pair now spend all day playing together. Under close supervision, Diablo and Fig run around the garden, with Fig being very gentle and patient with his prickly friend.
Diablo was born to porcupine parents Hannah and Prickle at Cotswold Wildlife Park but had to be hand-reared when the tiny porcupine’s mother rejected him. Hannah had previously reared twins that she is still caring for, so it is likely that the mother of two wasn’t quite ready for another baby so soon. So the unexpected arrival of Diablo came as a big surprise for everyone.
Diablo was very aggressive from birth, but ever since he spent some time with Fig, he is now showing his softer side. Though big enough to play with his buddy, Fig, Diablo is still being bottle-fed by Morgan.
Diablo was fed a bottle every two hours to get the little prickly baby into a good routine for the first month. He weighed 300 grams at the time, but now at six weeks old, he has grown to 1.8 kilograms. The growing porcupine also developed a liking for sweet potatoes and apples.
Now at six weeks old, Diablo is getting a taste of solid foods. Without the need to bottle-feed him, Morgan is now able to get more sleep.
Source SWNS via Youtube
