SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Iowa wildlife officials had an unexpected guest.
The Iowa DNR stated that a porcupine was recently found in Sioux City in a hotel parking lot.
Iowa DNR staff relocated the porcupine to wildlife area outside of town. They also gathered quills and feces from the porcupine for DNA samples. They want to learn more about the critter and where it possibly came from.
A porcupine found in Sioux City and transferred to a forested area. 
A porcupine found in Sioux City and transferred to a forested area. 
A porcupine found in Sioux City and transferred to a forested area. 
A porcupine found in Sioux City and transferred to a forested area. 
A porcupine found in Sioux City and transferred to a forested area.
Porcupines aren’t common in Iowa. Officials said they primarily live in forests in neighboring states north and west of Iowa.
The Smithsonian’s Nationa Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute states that porcupines in North America usually live in “coniferous and mixed-forest habitats of Canada, the northeastern and western regions of the United States and northern Mexico.”
Wildlife officials added that the porcupine wasn’t dangerous.
