Concern over an apparent paucity of recent porcupine (Erithizon dorsatum) observations in Arizona, prompted us to replicate Walter P. Taylor's (1935) letter requesting information from U. S. Forest Service and other government agency field personnel on the animal's status. On the basis of 162 reports of >314 porcupine observations we concluded that porcupines are thinly and unevenly distributed throughout the state with animals reliably sighted in select habitats near prairie dog towns, in certain suburban settings, and on the North Kaibab Plateau. We attribute this general scarcity to predation by mountain lions (Puma concolor) and possibly black bears (Ursus americanus), and agree with Taylor that predator control efforts resulting is a depressed lion population is the most likely explanation for the high number of porcupines reported during the 1924–1934 period. Although the porcupine does not appear to be endangered, there is no evidence to suggest that lion numbers are decreasing and that porcupine numbers may again increase. Prédation, and perhaps increased mortality from night-time road kills, has made porcupines an unusual animal in most of Arizona.