‘Fight like Cinder’: an update on Cinder the Porcupine’s recovery

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Cinder, a North American Porcupine, was found at Lake Meredith by the Oregon Forestry Service after wildfires ravaged the area at the beginning of the year. Cinder was weak, had trouble breathing, and was burned on her feet, face, and quills. Since then, Cinder has been in the care of Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and has made significant progress in her recovery.

According to Stephanie Brady, founder and executive director of WWWRC, Cinder the Porcupine is now 70% healed. Cinder still has smaller spots on her feet, but Brady said that hair on her face and back and some new quills are coming in nicely. 

Brady said Cinder’s personality has started to show, with her sometimes throwing tantrums and wanting to be held when she is affectionate. Cinder has started to climb more with the help of donated grip socks from followers. She is also beginning to eat solid foods in addition to baby food.

“With burn victims, it's a long process,” Brady said. “It's long and patient for the victim and those caring for them because it's painful. She is on daily pain medications, but there is not enough pain medicine in the world to completely take care of burn pain. It’s hard on our hearts. It’s uncomfortable for her. It hurts, but she is doing really, really well.”

Cinder served as a symbol of hope for the Panhandle during the High Plains wildfires, teaching the community to “Fight like Cinder.”

“I think the devastation from the fires was really hard on a lot of people’s hearts and I think that’s worldwide,” Brady said. “When they saw the story of Cinder they felt connected to her because it was a way for them to understand what was going on in the Panhandle. Seeing her go through the first and losing a baby, she had a baby that was almost full term, and then being where she is now, gave her hope. A lot of times we say fight like Cinder because she definitely could have given up. We had some people even say ‘Do you think it would be better just to put her down,’ anytime an animal is eating or grooming themselves those are two key factors as to whether they want to be here or not, or if they have completely just shut down. From the very get-go, she was eating and drinking and she was fighting. So as long as she was fighting, we were going to fight with her.”

WWWRC held two T-shirt fundraisers with the slogan “Fight like Cinder” on them, raising $25,000 during the first shirt fundraiser and almost $10,000 in the second.

“The T-shirt fundraiser was amazing,” Brady said. “We have done fundraisers in the past for shirts and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think it would do that much. Normally we do a baby season fund and we didn’t do that this year because we used part of those funds for the babies we have in care after we had taken care of her medical expenses. It was an absolute blessing.”

According to Brady, Cinder will never be releasable because the pads of her feet completely burned off and will not grow back, plus she has compromised eyesight. But Cinder will join the other Education Ambassadors like Gus Gus the Striped Skunk and Lincoln the Gray Fox in the center’s education building to be an ambassador for her species and hope.

“As far as healing goes we suspect another six months,” Brady said. “She’s the first case we’ve had with third-degree burns this bad, so it’s a learning process for us as well. We know it can take up to a year for the quills to come in so we’re waiting to see that.”

Brady said she wants to thank the veterinarians who have been a part of Cinder’s care, those being Dr. Wolf, Dr. McKnight, and veterinary student Orlando, soon to be Dr. Vizcarra. She said she would also like to thank the supporters who helped provide financial support for Cinder’s medical expenses and recovery.

To keep up with Cinder and her recovery journey, follow Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center’s Facebook page.