The Old World porcupines spend the whole life on the ground. Nevertheless, they like to travel in pairs. They find shelter in caves, rock crevices, holes, or burrows that they may have dug. Sometimes, their home is an abandoned aardvark hole. These porcupines are bad at climbing or jumping, but they swim very well.

New World porcupines are a little bit different from the other species. They spend most of their time alone, and sometimes in pairs, but they like to move through the trees. Porcupines may den in tree nests, rock crevices, brush, logs, or in tangled tree roots.

This type of porcupine has long and curved claws that make it an excellent climber. Regardless of the type of species, they have a great sense of smell. To make quick work of available food, these herbivores have sharp, chisel-like front teeth.

Old World porcupines eat bark, roots, fruits, and berries. In rural areas, they may eat farmed crops, such as groundnuts, potatoes, pumpkins, and melons.

New World porcupines eat pine needles and bark, roots, stems, leaves, berries, meadow grass, seeds, flowers, nuts, aquatic vegetation, fruits, and tubers.