There’s a new porcupette in town, after prehensile-tailed porcupine Bess gave birth yesterday afternoon.

You may remember the adorable Charlotte, Bess’ first porcupette, who was born at the Smithsonian National Zoo on October 5, 2015.

But Charlotte is no longer longer at the National Zoo, says spokesperson Devin Murphy. She “moved to a different zoo when she became an adult.” Ah, they go from porcupette to porcupine so fast!

Yesterday’s birth brings the zoo’s prehensile-tailed porcupine count to three—Bess, Clark (the father), and the new kid.

The zoo is giving time for Bess and the baby to bond, so the porcupette’s sex is still unknown. “We’ll know in the coming weeks when zookeepers collect a quill of the porcupette,” says Murphy. After that, they’ll start making plans to name it.

She adds that for the next few days, there will be a covering over the exhibit “to give them privacy. After that, we’ll take that down and you’ll be able to see all three at the Small Mammal House.”

The animals originally come from Venezuela, Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Trinidad, and northern sections of Argentina, according to the zoo. They use their eponymous tails for hanging and grasping.

Filed Under: bye charlotte, national zoo, porcupette, porcupine, zoo,