Boar-q-pine

The Boarcupine is one of the larger animals in the world of Avatar. One of these large beasts has a fight with Appa, severely injuring him.

Anatomy
The Boarcupine is an enormous animal, though not nearly as large as the Flying Bison. It has the body and general appearance of a boar, except that its body is covered in quills like a porcupine. It has a large head compared to the rest of its body, and from it emerge a pair of sharp, white tusks. As they grow, the quills that cover their body when they are young tilt backwards, making them more agile.

Connection
The Boarcupine is a combination of the boar and the porcupine. It resembles the Demon Boar from Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke. It is also somewhat similar to the extinct Entelodon, a giant prehistoric pig-like mammal.

Behavior
It is said that Boarcupines are very bad tempered and vengeful yet very shy and prone to cute waddling. Apparently, Boarcupines are carnivores and the main predators for Koala Sheep. They are one of the few inhabiting animals of the Black Cliffs. These animals are quite docile and friendly when young, but eventually develop into large, vicious beasts.

Combat
The Boarcupine extends its quills during battle so that even if it is defeated, the foe will take serious damage. The quills latch on to its opponent with physical contact. Currently it is unknown whether or not the quills are poisonous. This is highly unlikely however, since Appa was able to make a full recovery without the use of antidotes. During the fight with Appa, a lone Boarcupine severely injured the bison with a blitz of extremely fast charges. Eventually, Appa anticipated an attack and was able to grab the Boarcupine and throw it against a tree, causing it to flee. Apparently, as a baby, a Boarcupine relies on its quills as its main defense against predators.

Trivia

 * In the final scene of the third book's finale, Zuko says that Sokka made him look like a Boarcupine in his painting.
 * As suggested by Toph, Boarcupine quills may be utilized for acupuncture.