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National Zoo announces porcupine birth

WASHINGTON – The National Zoo may be shy a panda after , but now it’s up one porcupine.

The zoo announced Friday the birth of a prehensile-tailed porcupine. The baby porcupine was born some time overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, the zoo said.

The porcupette – as infant porcupines are adorably called – is the third offspring born to the zoo’s adult prehensile-tailed porcupines, Bess and Clark.

Keepers hope to be able to determine the sex of the porcupette over the next week or so, the zoo said in a news release.

The porcupines live in the Small Mammal House exhibit at the zoo.

Sarah Beth Hensley

Sarah Beth Hensley is the Digital 91Å·ÃÀ¼¤Çé Director at 91Å·ÃÀ¼¤Çé. She has worked several different roles since she began with 91Å·ÃÀ¼¤Çé in 2013 and has contributed to award-winning stories and coverage on the website.

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