evidence: The ability of porcupines to survive in areas proximate to farmlands and suburbia is a double-edged sword for them, because their initial success results in their ongoing persecution by humans. Porcupines come into conflict with us humans when they eat or damage crops and garden plants, damage fences and/or burrow under fences, chew on irrigation pipes or strip bark off trees. Additionally, their burrows can be obstacles to farm vehicles, and their abandoned burrows may harbour other animals that are also regarded as ‘problem animals’. [...] Porcupines are often regarded as wasteful feeders and their digging and burrowing is considered to be nothing short of damage. But ecologically speaking, in natural habitats porcupines can be seen as beneficial ecosystem engineers. Their diggings can accumulate water and organic material, including seed, and so have a positive effect on biodiversity, and their foraging habits can contribute to the regeneration of plants that propagate through corms and bulbs.