THE INTERNET GAVE THE BABY PORCUPINE AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT LOG.
Point Defiance Zoo welcomed its first prehensile-tailed porcupine baby in 121 years. Then the internet spotted the tiny porcupette clutching a log and named it an “emotional support log.” For once, the comments improved the story.
THE INTERNET GAVE THE BABY PORCUPINE AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT LOG
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium welcomed its first prehensile-tailed porcupine baby in the zoo’s 121-year history. The tiny porcupette arrived in August, immediately displayed elite branch-clutching skills, and the internet did what the internet occasionally does best: became emotionally invested in a very small animal.
WHAT HAPPENED
The porcupette was born August 17 to parents Nigel and Quillow as part of an accredited zoo breeding recommendation intended to maintain healthy, genetically diverse animal populations.
At a veterinary wellness exam, staff checked the baby’s heart, lungs, eyes and mouth, recorded its weight and collected quills for DNA testing to determine its sex.
Prehensile-tailed porcupines are adapted for life in trees. Their tails help them balance and grip branches, while their bare foot soles give them traction. Which means the baby spending a great deal of time attached to pieces of wood is less “therapy strategy” and more “being a porcupine.”
The “emotional support log” description is internet language, not an official zoological diagnosis. This distinction is important, although considerably less fun.
WHY THIS IS HOPESLOP
Not every item needs to represent measurable global progress.
Sometimes the world produces a baby porcupine, gives it a log, and allows thousands of people to be briefly delighted by the arrangement.
The comments section, against considerable historical precedent, improved the experience.
We recognize this as a legitimate public service.
ORIGINAL SOURCEPoint Defiance Zoo & Aquarium / Good Good GoodRead the original report