The large hemlock forests of Crater Lake National Park are known to harbor many porcupines as evidence in various bark peeled trees. This rodent, living in both trees and ground, feeds upon the bark of the hemlock, which for him is a delicacy just as are the old scraps of leather, soap and other materials which he finds while raiding a deserted camp.

It is seldom, however, that a nature study group of tourists has the opportunity to study a living porcupine at close range. One morning while such a group was making its way over an old glacial moraine, a porcupine came from its hiding place beneath some of the large loose boulders a few feet from the party. Many of the startled tourists ran, believing in the old story that the creature would "shoot" its needles. This erroneous idea was soon forgotten when the porcupine, a slow moving fellow, worked his way over the rocks to a near-by hemlock which he proceeded to climb in his clumsy fashion, bracing himself with his broad tail.

In order to see most of the wild, roaming animal life of Crater Lake Park one must leave the immediate camp grounds along the Rim and travel the trails which lead into the forests. Here, where there are no dogs barking from the ends of their leashes, the natural denizens of the forest work and play unafraid.