Traversing the Frying Pan Ranch in the high plains of Texas you would probably not expect to run into a porcupine. But run into them we do, especially in the spring-fed creeks populated with cottonwoods and western soapberry trees that wind through the otherwise open grassland mesas and shrubby mesquite basins. While most commonly found in forests, porcupines can thrive in grasslands, deserts, and even the tundra. Unlike some mammals, porcupines don’t go into hibernation through the winter to escape the cold. Instead, insulated by their coarse guard hairs and quills, they are often found out in the open, resting high in tree branches, moving as little as possible to retain stored fat and stabilize their body temperature through winter. Photos by @claudia.elise