ABILENE, Texas (BigCountryHomepage.com) – You may have heard of a cat being stuck in a tree, but what about a porcupine? Tuesday afternoon, the Abilene Fire Department (AFD) and a local wildlife rehabilitation service came to the rescue of a prickly critter in South Abilene.

A tree in the parking lot of HEB was where a porcupine made itself ‘home’ Tuesday afternoon. A customer at Familia Dental said they noticed the critter about three days earlier.

Big Country Wildlife Rehabilitation board of directors president, Sam Townshand, told BCH the porcupine likely made its way to the area during the recent rains in search of food.

Why did it need to be rescued? While porcupines are known to eat tree sprouts and get moisture from leaves, a glaring issue was that birds would also nest and mate in that very tree. Because of the porcupine, the birds had gotten more aggressive and territorial, according to Townshand.

AFD and Big Country Wildlife Rehabilitation were not able to get the porcupine down Tuesday, but Townshand said the critter isn’t in any actual danger and will come down when ready. In the meantime, the rehabilitation service said it will monitor the animal over the next few days.

Experts warn, if you wander out to this tree to catch a glimpse of the porcupine, do only that. Do not approach.