Margate Eco-Estate welcomes porcupines as part of its Green Custodianship initiative
An eco-estate located in the stunning coastal town of Margate on the KwaZulu Natal South Coast welcomes porcupines as part of its Green Custodianship initiative
Cohabitation with natural wildlife is a central ethos at the eco-focused estate located in the South Coast of KZN, where three rescued porcupines have recently benefited from the rewilding project.
The releases were overseen by Estate Manager, Ryne Ferguson, who says all the animals are thriving in this healthy coastal environment.
“We had bushbuck and grey duiker successfully released in mid-January. This release went smoothly, and we’ve occasionally spotted the bushbuck near the Estate Clubhouse, which is great to see,”
notes Ferguson.
“In February, we received an urgent call from FreeMe Wildlife about the need to release three Cape porcupines that were captured by a farmer in a cabbage patch. They arrived the following day, and we were able to successfully release all three on the estate. Given that Cape porcupines are mostly nocturnal, we haven’t had any sightings of them yet, but that is to be expected.”
The eco-estate joined the Green Custodianship through FreeMe Wildlife, aligning the estate with the ‘Islands of Hope’ Green Custodian programme. It’s through this affiliation that rehabilitated wildlife can be released onto the estate, contributing to the estate’s overall conservation efforts.
“We have a few Cape porcupines on the estate, however, it was felt that we could definitely accommodate these three guys, which would also bring some much-needed new blood to our gene pool,”
he added.
5 Fast Facts About Cape Porcupines
1. Cape porcupines (as do all porcupines) have banded quills, which are essentially their hairs.
2. When threatened, porcupines erect their quills and back towards a predator (they do not shoot there quills!).
3. Porcupines eat roots, bulbs, and bark, often ring-barking trees to open up woodland into savanna.
4. Porcupines gnaw on bones for the minerals and to sharpen their teeth.
5. A mating pair of porcupines can inhabit up to six burrows at a time.
*Information provided by the publicist
