TEMPORAL ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF CRESTED PORCUPINES HYSTRIX CRISTATA

The activity of radiotagged adult crested porcupines Hystrix cristata L., 1758, was studied in a rural hilly area of Central Italy, from Jul y 1990 to June 1991. Three males and one female were monitored every 1 5 minutes for 18-24 hours/individual/week, and their activity patterns were correlated to ambient temperature, precipitation and lunar phase s. Three individuals, out of the four monitored, showed a fall of acti vity in the beginning of the cold season, but generally porcupines app eared adapted to a wide spectrum of temperatures. The mean duration of nocturnal and crepuscular activity was 9 h 22' +/- 42', showing littl e variation throughout the year. In the cold months, i.e. when nights are relatively longer, porcupines usually left their burrows after sun set and came back some hours before sunrise. In the warm season they l eft their burrows at sunset, or shortly before, and returned at sunris e, or shortly after. Overall diurnal activity was scarce (2h 11' +/- 1 h 30'), but in spring it increased to over 40% of the diel activity ( 3h 22' +/- 3 h). Moonlight avoidance was slight. Precipitation did not seem to influence the activity of porcupines.