# Malayan porcupine > The Malayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) is a large, quilled, nocturnal rodent of Sumatra and Borneo that is widely hunted for meat and trade. Source: https://panduanhewan.org/en/species/malayan-porcupine/ · Updated 25 September 2026 · English · Bahasa Indonesia: https://panduanhewan.org/id/spesies/landak-raya/ _This Markdown mirror is generated at build time from the same data as the HTML page. Cite the HTML page URL and its update date._ **Review status:** Compiled and checked against the listed sources; not yet reviewed by a specialist. ## Quick answer The Malayan porcupine (*Hystrix brachyura*) is a mammal in the family Hystricidae. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern. | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Scientific name | *Hystrix brachyura* | | Indonesian name | Landak raya | | Group | Mammals | | Family | Hystricidae | | Range in Indonesia | Sumatra and Borneo (Kalimantan) | | Linked habitats | [Tropical Rainforests](https://panduanhewan.org/en/habitats/tropical-rainforest/) | | Diet | Roots, tubers, bark, grains and fallen fruit | | Range in Indonesia | Sumatra and Borneo (Kalimantan) | | Key feature | Long white quills with one dark band; short rattling tail | | Size | Head-body 45.5–93 cm; weight 8–27 kg | | Other names | Landak raya, Himalayan crestless porcupine | | IUCN status | Least Concern · [IUCN Red List (via GBIF)](https://www.gbif.org/species/5219890) · checked 25 September 2026 | ## What is the Malayan porcupine? The Malayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) is a large, stocky rodent covered in sharp quills. According to the Handbook of the Mammals of the World (HMW), it measures 45.5–93 cm from head to rump, with a 6–17 cm tail, and weighs 8–27 kg. It is blackish-brown with a short tail. Quills on the back, shoulders and sides are brown without white tips. The long defensive quills on the lower back are white with a single blackish-brown band in the middle and are about 20 cm long. The tail carries hollow, goblet-shaped quills that rattle when shaken. The subspecies found in Sumatra and Borneo is H. b. brachyura. Evidence: [Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Vol. 6 (via Plazi/Zenodo) — Malayan Porcupine, Hystrix brachyura](https://zenodo.org/records/6612198) · [Nature in Singapore (Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum) — Chung et al. (2016), Records of the Malayan porcupine, Hystrix brachyura, in Singapore (PDF)](https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/app/uploads/2017/06/2016nis063-068.pdf) · [IPB University Scientific Repository — Tingkah laku harian landak raya (Hystrix brachyura) pada siang hari di penangkaran](https://repository.ipb.ac.id/handle/123456789/36539) ## Where does the Malayan porcupine live? In Indonesia, the Malayan porcupine lives on Sumatra and Borneo (Kalimantan). Beyond Indonesia, its range extends from Nepal and north-east India through central and southern China and mainland South-east Asia to Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. HMW records it in forests and open fields, where it digs large burrows into banks and under rocks. A LIPI survey in South Sumatra and East Kalimantan found porcupine (Hystrix) dens in holes in the soil and among rocks on steep slopes. The same survey found that many porcupine habitats in East Kalimantan had been damaged or lost to forest clearing. Evidence: [Nature Conservation — Gomez (2021), The illegal hunting and exploitation of porcupines for meat and medicine in Indonesia](https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/62750/) · [Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Vol. 6 (via Plazi/Zenodo) — Malayan Porcupine, Hystrix brachyura](https://zenodo.org/records/6612198) · [Prosiding Seminar Nasional Masyarakat Biodiversitas Indonesia — Farida (2015), Diversitas tumbuhan pakan, habitat dan pemanfaatan landak (Hystrix sp.) di Sumatera Selatan dan Kalimantan Timur](https://smujo.id/psnmbi/article/view/1147) ## What does the Malayan porcupine eat? The Malayan porcupine is a generalist plant-eater that feeds on roots, tubers, bark, grains, vegetation and fallen fruit, including oil palm fruit. HMW notes that it craves calcium and gnaws bones and deer antlers. A LIPI survey of porcupines (Hystrix) recorded 48 forest food plants in South Sumatra and 45 in East Kalimantan, plus Cryptotermes termites as the only animal food. The parts eaten were mainly palm hearts, bamboo shoots, seeds, fruit, tubers, rhizomes, young shoots and bark. Plants of the mango family and plants with milky sap were strongly preferred. Evidence: [Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Vol. 6 (via Plazi/Zenodo) — Malayan Porcupine, Hystrix brachyura](https://zenodo.org/records/6612198) · [Prosiding Seminar Nasional Masyarakat Biodiversitas Indonesia — Farida (2015), Diversitas tumbuhan pakan, habitat dan pemanfaatan landak (Hystrix sp.) di Sumatera Selatan dan Kalimantan Timur](https://smujo.id/psnmbi/article/view/1147) ## How does the Malayan porcupine behave? The Malayan porcupine is nocturnal and lives on the ground. In a camera-trap survey of Indonesian rainforest mammals cited by HMW, every photo of a Malayan porcupine was taken at night. It lives alone or in groups of two to four; family groups may share a burrow and forage together along set trails. When disturbed, it rattles its tail quills, snorts and stamps its feet, and may then charge backwards with its quills raised. It cannot shoot its quills, but they detach easily and stay in an attacker's body. Gestation lasts about 110 days, two (sometimes three) well-developed young are born, and females can breed twice a year. Evidence: [Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Vol. 6 (via Plazi/Zenodo) — Malayan Porcupine, Hystrix brachyura](https://zenodo.org/records/6612198) · [Nature in Singapore (Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum) — Chung et al. (2016), Records of the Malayan porcupine, Hystrix brachyura, in Singapore (PDF)](https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/app/uploads/2017/06/2016nis063-068.pdf) ## How is the Malayan porcupine different from the Javan porcupine? The Malayan and Javan porcupines (Hystrix javanica) are easiest to tell apart by location. The Malayan porcupine lives on Sumatra and Borneo; the Javan porcupine on Java, Madura, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Rinca and Tanah Jampea. Both belong to the subgenus Acanthion, and the Javan porcupine was included in H. brachyura until van Weers (1979) treated it as separate. According to HMW, the Javan porcupine's quills are weakly developed: its longest quills are 8–15.5 cm, shorter than the Malayan porcupine's defensive quills of about 20 cm. Many of its quills have black tips, giving its back and sides a dark, speckled look. Its nasal bones also tend to be shorter. Evidence: [Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Vol. 6 (via Plazi/Zenodo) — Sunda Porcupine, Hystrix javanica](https://zenodo.org/records/6612200) · [Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Vol. 6 (via Plazi/Zenodo) — Malayan Porcupine, Hystrix brachyura](https://zenodo.org/records/6612198) · [Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition (via Plazi/Zenodo) — Hystrix (Acanthion) javanica](https://zenodo.org/records/11330067) ## Why is the Malayan porcupine hunted? The Malayan porcupine is hunted for meat, traditional medicine and the live-animal trade. Gomez (2021) recorded 39 porcupine seizures in Indonesia from January 2013 to June 2020, involving about 450 animals. The Malayan porcupine was the species most often identified, and 56 live porcupines seized in North Sumatra were bound for China via Aceh. Porcupine bezoars, stone-like masses from the gut, are also sold online: Heinrich and colleagues found 63 adverts from Indonesian sellers over three months in 2019. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern, but its population is decreasing. Help by not buying porcupine meat, quills or bezoars, and by reporting wildlife trade to the authorities. Evidence: [Nature Conservation — Gomez (2021), The illegal hunting and exploitation of porcupines for meat and medicine in Indonesia](https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/62750/) · [Global Ecology and Conservation — Heinrich et al. (2020), Valuable stones: the trade in porcupine bezoars (PDF)](https://wildlifetraderesearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/heinrich-et-al-2020-global-ecol-conserv.pdf) ## Common questions about the Malayan porcupine ### What is the scientific name of the Malayan porcupine? The scientific name of the Malayan porcupine is *Hystrix brachyura*, in the family Hystricidae. In Indonesian it is called Landak raya. ### Where can the Malayan porcupine be found in Indonesia? In Indonesia, this guide records the Malayan porcupine in: Sumatra and Borneo (Kalimantan). Source-supported habitats: [Tropical Rainforests](https://panduanhewan.org/en/habitats/tropical-rainforest/). ### What does the Malayan porcupine eat? Diet of the Malayan porcupine: roots, tubers, bark, grains and fallen fruit. ### What is the conservation status of the Malayan porcupine? On the IUCN Red List, the Malayan porcupine is listed as Least Concern: it does not currently qualify for a threatened category in the global assessment. Source: [IUCN Red List (via GBIF)](https://www.gbif.org/species/5219890), checked 25 September 2026. This global category is separate from legal protection in Indonesia. To check whether the Malayan porcupine is a protected species, consult the current national list of [protected species](https://panduanhewan.org/en/glossary/#satwa-dilindungi) or contact the local [BKSDA](https://panduanhewan.org/en/bksda-offices/) (natural resources conservation office). ## Sources & references 1. [Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Vol. 6 (via Plazi/Zenodo) — Malayan Porcupine, Hystrix brachyura](https://zenodo.org/records/6612198) 2. [Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Vol. 6 (via Plazi/Zenodo) — Sunda Porcupine, Hystrix javanica](https://zenodo.org/records/6612200) 3. [Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition (via Plazi/Zenodo) — Hystrix (Acanthion) javanica](https://zenodo.org/records/11330067) 4. [Nature in Singapore (Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum) — Chung et al. (2016), Records of the Malayan porcupine, Hystrix brachyura, in Singapore (PDF)](https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/app/uploads/2017/06/2016nis063-068.pdf) 5. [Nature Conservation — Gomez (2021), The illegal hunting and exploitation of porcupines for meat and medicine in Indonesia](https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/62750/) 6. [Global Ecology and Conservation — Heinrich et al. (2020), Valuable stones: the trade in porcupine bezoars (PDF)](https://wildlifetraderesearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/heinrich-et-al-2020-global-ecol-conserv.pdf) 7. [Prosiding Seminar Nasional Masyarakat Biodiversitas Indonesia — Farida (2015), Diversitas tumbuhan pakan, habitat dan pemanfaatan landak (Hystrix sp.) di Sumatera Selatan dan Kalimantan Timur](https://smujo.id/psnmbi/article/view/1147) 8. [IPB University Scientific Repository — Tingkah laku harian landak raya (Hystrix brachyura) pada siang hari di penangkaran](https://repository.ipb.ac.id/handle/123456789/36539) 9. [Mammal Diversity Database (ASM) — Hystrix brachyura, Malayan Porcupine](https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1001284/) ## Further reading [Porcupine: facts, threats and conservation](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/porcupine/) — World Animal Rescue Network. A broader overview that covers this animal. ## Keep exploring - [Javan Porcupine](https://panduanhewan.org/en/species/hystrix-javanica/) - [Agile gibbon](https://panduanhewan.org/en/species/agile-gibbon/) - [Banteng](https://panduanhewan.org/en/species/banteng/) - [Bearded pig](https://panduanhewan.org/en/species/bearded-pig/) - [Tropical Rainforests](https://panduanhewan.org/en/habitats/tropical-rainforest/) --- Cite: PanduanHewan. (2026). Malayan porcupine. PanduanHewan.org. https://panduanhewan.org/en/species/malayan-porcupine/