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Unusual Coloration of a North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)

The North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) has a broad geographic distribution, spanning much of North America south of the tree line (Wood 1973). Across this broad range, there is little variation in coat color of Porcupines, with most individuals having black pelage with white patches (Anderson and Rand 1943; PoChedley and Shadle 1955; Wood 1973). In the Pacific Northwest, however, individuals of E. d. epixanthum may have quills that have a distinct yellow tinge (Anderson and Rand 1943; Wood 1973), but have visible black underfur. This color is also occasionally seen in other subspecies as well. Albinism is known in Porcupines, having been documented in the literature (for example, Murie 1926; Struthers 1928; Reeks 1942; Shadle 1946) and by photographs available on the internet. Po-Chedley and Shadle (1955) provide a thorough account of the structure and function of the unique pelage of Porcupine. We are not aware of leucistic or melanistic individuals being reported. Here, we report an observation of an unusual colored Porcupine. On 5 August 2014, 1 of us (JJ) observed a Porcupine on the shore of Teslin Lake (60.233546, 2132.916626), Yukon, Canada, that was of a sandy or cream color (Fig. 1). There were few observable