The crested porcupine’s global population trend is unknown, but it is stable and increasing in mainland Italy.
In mainland Italy, population densities of the crested porcupine are increasing, and the species is expanding its range northwards. On Sicily, the porcupine is widespread, and the long-term population trend appears to be stable.
Outside Europe, there is little published information on population trends, but there have been declines in at least some areas, probably as a result of persecution and exploitation for its meat and quills. In Africa, it is generally common throughout the range, although it is becoming increasingly rare in North Africa where there has been a decline in range and population. In Morocco, it is declining and clearly threatened. The species may have been extirpated in Egypt since 1980 and has been extinct in heavily-settled parts of Uganda since the 1970’s.
• Image | ©️ Bernard DUPONT, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-SA 2.0)
• Sources | (Amori & Angelici, 1999; Amori & De Smet, 2016; Nowak, 1999)
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