![]() Like a squirrel, a fisher can climb a tree and then swivel around and descend head first into the porcupine, forcing it to the ground. This long, sleek creature will use its supreme arboreal abilities to chase a porcupine up a tree and wear down its prey before attacking. This tactic may work for many predators, but it is useless against the fisher. Often, the attack can take over a half an hour until the fisher can inflict a lethal bite.Ī porcupine spends most of its time in trees, where it is safe from terrestrial assailants. It rapidly strikes the face of the porcupine in order to injure its prey. The fisher is weasel-shaped, long and low to the ground, which gives it a clear advantage over the porcupine. Quills guarding its face from above are useless against attackers coming from below. Unlike longer-legged predators, fishers are the same height as porcupines and are able to attack them face to face.Ī porcupine’s face is its only unprotected portion other than its belly, and the fisher has evolved quickness and agility in order to take advantage of this gap in the porcupine’s armor. But for the fisher, quills do not seem to be such an obstacle. Most of the porcupine’s potential predators probably leave it till last on their list of potential meals. Longer legs or wings force most of the porcupine’s predators to strike from above, where there is no gap in the shield of quills. While porcupines have many predators, including red fox, coyotes, wolves, bears, mountain lions, lynx, bobcats, eagles, and great horned owls, the fisher is a uniquely adapted one. Though the porcupines seem to be fully protected in their prickly suit of armor, there is one animal that has adapted to take advantage of a weakness in their shield. As he winces back to my side, I begin to wonder what type of animal has the ability to prey upon a porcupine without receiving a penalty for its meal. Lunging at the porcupine, my dog comes up with a face full of quills. As my dog starts to circle, the porcupine turns its rear end to my dog and begins to back into him, thrashing its tail back and forth. Head and shoulders lowered, the porcupine’s quills immediately become erect in order to state their presence as a threat. My dog covers the ground quickly only to discover that his target is covered in sharp points. The porcupine’s long quills rest softly on its back in their relaxed position as it nibbles on a pine branch. With wide eyes and attentive ears, he makes a right-hand turn and sprints off into the wind.Ī porcupine meanders through the underbrush in search of food, unaware of the approaching menace. He begins to filter through the familiar scents of the forest, recognizing a particularly enticing one. My dog’s nose shoots high into the air as a cool breeze moves gently through his fur.
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