Skip to main content

From sickly and prickly to fully recovered: Virginia porcupine returns to the wild

[connatix_element_embed video_id=c58d0c49-2e72-4cae-a5c2-c890b85e4d94]

A little over a week after being found in a Winchester, Virginia, parking garage, a male porcupine is back to living in the wildlife.

The staff at the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center in Boyce reported that they released the porcupine “in an undisclosed location” after treating him for a lung infection.

In a statement released by the center, Dr. Jen Riley, the director of veterinary services at the wildlife center, said they just “don’t want people to go out looking for him.”

Initially, in an interview with WTOP last week, Riley said the porcupine’s prognosis looked questionable.

One of the latest patients taken to a Virginia wildlife center for medical care didn’t have fur or feathers, but it was covered in quills. (Courtesy Blue Ridge Wildlife Center)

However, after treatment, he began eating and, by Friday, he was deemed healthy enough to be released.

Porcupines had been nearly wiped out in Virginia by the mid-19th century. However, over the past 30 years, Riley said, there have been more sightings in the northwest area of the state.


Fairfax County firefighters come home after assisting Colombia earthquake victims

Ten Fairfax County firefighters who are part of Virginia Task Force 1 returned late Thursday from helping coordinate a rescue effort after the devastating earthquake in Colombia. Family members greeted the team as they arrived in Chantilly Thursday night. A young girl held a sign that read "Welcome Home Daddy." For Andy Kassavetis, this was his first mission with Task Force 1, and seeing the devastation in Colombia put some things into perspective for him. He said he saw firsthand "how impactful an event can be on a community. It makes you think about, you know, really when you come home sharing the love with the people around you and letting them know you’re there with them, because things can change really quickly.”
Read Next Story