Due to their love for salt.
In the United States, the North American porcupine is referred to as a spiny pig. However, strictly speaking, they are not porcupines but rather echidnas, which are classified in a separate family and are not closely related to porcupines.
The spiny pig lives in trees and feeds on plant material. Its body is covered with coarse fur and sparse thin quills. In the forest, echidnas resemble large dark balls hidden high in the tree canopies. Occasionally, they have to come down to the ground, where the slow-moving echidnas become targets for various predators. However, getting to them is not so easy — their tough bristles and quills provide reliable protection. Additionally, the echidna actively defends itself by striking with its thick, spiny tail.
The quills of this animal have curved spines that gradually embed themselves into the body of a predator upon penetration. Extracting the fragile quills of the echidna is also difficult — they simply break off. Therefore, a close encounter with the spiny pig often ends tragically for dogs, wolves, coyotes, and lynxes.
Americans are not very fond of echidnas. In winter, they cause a lot of inconvenience to foresters by stripping bark from trees. In summer, when they have a greater need for salt, echidnas often visit campsites of hunters, fishermen, and tourists, causing significant damage in search of salty foods. The only ones who appreciate spiny pigs are the Athabaskan Indians, who use their quills to create decorations for traditional clothing, birch bark utensils, as well as beautiful beads and bracelets.
