Migrating Porcupine Quills: Sudden Death of a Yearling American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) at a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

Abstract

A yearling, intact, apparently healthy male American black bear (Ursus americanus) died peracutely at a rehabilitation facility in Ontario, Canada while overwintering, after recovery from porcupine quilling a few months previously. The postmortem examination findings support that porcupine quill migration should be a differential for cause of sudden death in wildlife.