Linda Sullivan, age 12, of Bo sa, a o, or her question:

Does a porcupine lay eggs?

The porcupine is a mammal and mammal babies are born alive. This, you might think, would be very painful to Mama Prickles and it might be more practical to hatch Junior from an egg. But you can stop worrying. At birth Juniorfs prickles are soft as strips of plastic. They do not become stiff for several days.

Junior is usually an only child. He is bigger than a baby bear cub and weighs a pound. His bright eyes ale alert and ha is ready to cape with the world from the start. Mama nurses him only a few days, but she spends several months giving him a proper procupine education,