LISBON, Maine— A Maine man in search of a valuable mineral cut open a dead porcupine on the side of the road and unexpectedly pulled out its baby.

 

Jared Buzzell, of Lisbon, says he was searching for wild mushrooms Thursday when he saw a porcupine get hit by a car in Minot. Buzzell says he’d heard that a valuable mineral deposit used in Chinese medicine formed in the stomachs of porcupines.

 

He then cut open the dead porcupine to search for the mineral and instead found the baby.

 

He tells WMTW-TV he cut the umbilical cord and thought the baby porcupine was dead until he started massaging it and it began breathing.

 

Buzzell is caring for the baby at home and plans to give it to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.