- Brazil’s thin-spined porcupine (Chaetomys subspinosus) is a picky eater that lives only in dense coastal habitats with well-developed canopies that allow the animals to move between trees; however, these habitats are increasingly under threat due to coastal development.
- Researchers used radio telemetry to monitor three porcupines that had been translocated to a new, permanent preservation area, as well as one local resident; they determined that translocation is a viable conservation tool for protecting these animals.
- The research also highlights the importance of conserving the porcupines’ restinga forest habitat and its unique features.
The historically devastated Atlantic Forest, particularly its lesser-known and endangered coastal ecosystems — sandbank forests known for their species diversity and sandy soils as well as mangroves — face several threats as a consequence of escalating coastal development in Brazil. Drawn to the natural beauty of its seascapes, predatory tourism and the real estate industry target these areas to construct gated communities, hotels and resorts. Other relevant threats are widespread extractive and forestry industries present throughout the region. Moreover, some of Brazil’s largest cities are on the coast, and, in most cases, urban expansion also implies the destruction or degradation of these ecosystems.
In the city of Aracruz, in the southeast, a group of Brazilian scientists rescued three thin-spined porcupines (Chaetomys subspinosus) from a sandbank forest that would be suppressed by the construction of a port terminal. This rare species, endemic to a small area of the Atlantic Forest, is the most threatened porcupine in Brazil, considered vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN Red List. Currently, their biggest threat is habitat loss driven by coastal development.
The porcupines were relocated to a nearby permanent preservation area with similar habitat conditions and were monitored using radio telemetry over various periods between October 2015 and March 2017. At the end of the monitoring period, researchers concluded that all translocated individuals achieved permanence — meaning they were well established — in the new area.
This wasn’t the first translocation of this species but is considered pioneering due to being the first well-planned and executed translocation of thin-spined porcupines. Noticeably, the study also included monitoring one resident individual to assess the impact of the translocation on the local porcupine population, as they are a territorial species. The case study was highlighted in a recent article published in the Journal for Nature Conservation.
Translocation is a viable option for Brazil’s threatened porcupines: Study