[1][2] The adult crested porcupine has an average head and body length around 60 to 83 cm (24 to 33 in) long, discounting the tail, and weighs from 13 to 27 kg (29 to 60 lb).

These sturdier quills are used, for the most part, for defense and are usually marked with light and dark bands which alternate; these are not firmly attached.

The rattle quills broaden at the terminal end and the broad portion is hollow with thin walls.

In the Mediterranean, it is known from mainland Italy and the island of Sicily, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia; they are also recorded in Ghana, Libya and along the Egyptian coast.

The crested porcupine is native to Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia,[8] Gambia, Ghana, Djibouti, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Italy, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda.

[citation needed] The crested porcupine is a terrestrial mammal; it very seldom climbs trees, but can swim.

[10] The crested porcupine is for the most part herbivorous, eating roots, bulbs, and leaves, but occasionally they do consume insects, small vertebrates, and carrion.

They have high crowned teeth that grind plant tissues which are digested in the stomach, and the undigested fibers are retained in an enlarged appendix and anterior large intestine, where they are broken down by microorganisms.

One or two well developed young are born in a chamber within the burrow that is usually lined with grass, after on average a 66-day gestation period.