Porcupines can't jump: Camera traps in the forest canopy reveal dwarf porcupine behavior
A team of scientists, led by Dr. Tremaine Gregory from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, worked with a pipeline construction company to preserve the branches of large trees that connected over the pipeline clearing forming natural canopy bridges in the Lower Urubamba Region of Peru. For a year, the researchers used camera traps in the bridges to monitor their use, and it didn't take long for an unexpected animal to appear in the photographs: a tiny porcupine weighing just 770g. Curiously, the small mammals appeared to be unable to leap across canopy gaps, choosing only well-connected bridges. The finding was published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, and funding and logistical support for this canopy bridge study were provided by Repsol Exploración Perú.