The porcupine, commonly known as “porkyâ€, “hedgehogâ€, or “quill pigâ€, is a rodent second in size only to the beaver in Alaska. Its broad distribution covers nearly all of the state except the northern slope of the Brooks Range, the Seward Peninsula and the delta regions of the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, all basically treeless environments. Although they are generally found in coniferous forests, their distribution includes a wide range of vegetation types from semi-desert to tundra.