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Estimated Read Time: 6 minutes

The Prickly Pair: The Porcupine and the Fisher

Solitude is synonymous with wilderness and it’s synonymous with two of the Rocky Mountain ecosystem’s oddest creatures, inextricably linked not only to one another, but also to the forests they call home.  

What’s the shyest and hardest to find predator in the Rocky Mountain ecosystem? Easy: it’s the wolverine.  

Second on that list? Undoubtedly, it’s their smaller, but equally cantankerous cousin: the fisher. 

But before I introduce you to the fisher, first you have to meet their prey. And unlikely prey it is: the porcupine. 

No matter where you live in the world – unless you find yourself leading a research station in Antarctica – you likely have some variety of porcupine living in the ecosystem you call home. The North American porcupine is widespread and, in many ways, it’s simply a beaver without the aquatic lifestyle.  

Why? 

The porcupine, like the beaver, is part of the rodent family – it’s the second largest in this order after, you guessed it, the beaver. And, again, like the beaver, they love their trees. 

Porcupines – which, amazingly, are believed to have first dispersed across the ocean from Africa to Brazil, before waddling their way up to Canada – have evolved with the forest ecosystems they call home.  

It’s why you can find numerous porcupine subspecies across the continent, each with their own unique forest dwelling needs.  

It’s also why porcupines are critical to forest health, doing their part to sustain the nutrient cycle. The trees they consume – and, at times, kill – create the needed habitat for other forest dependent species, enabling nests for birds, homes and food for insects and even dens for predators. And as the dead trees decompose, they act as the fertilizer for ecosystem renewal. 

To eat trees, porcupines need to keep their teeth sharp and strong. How? By chewing on bones, obviously ? – proving, once again, that the term herbivore requires air quotations.  

That’s not to say you won’t find porcupines eating vegetation. You will. At night. In fact, porcupines are nocturnal because plant chemistry changes at night, becoming more nutrient rich in the dark and more nutritious for porcupines.  

They might actually spend more time eating vegetation if it weren’t for deer, a chief competitor for forest floor food – and it’s why porcupines require healthy populations of cougars where they live to help prevent the deer population from overgrazing.  

But, just

like us,

porcupines

also have a

not so

secret vice:

salt.

How much do they love salt? Well, let’s just say in places like the Kinney and Berg Lake Trail parking lot in Mount Robson Provincial Park, overnight campers might be well advised to test their car breaks before departure. You see, porcupines are notorious for eating a car’s break lines to enjoy its salty goodness. Mmmm.

Which sounds odd, but not as odd as their mating ritual. A male will scream – think a possessed child in a horror movie – at fellow competitors to have the right to attract female companionship. How will they attract a female you ask? By spraying urine in her face until she becomes keen…

via GIPHY

Okay, moving on! 

Of course, nothing defines the porcupine more than it’s 30,000 quills of pure torture.

An attacker will usually find the porcupine – like many French armies of the past – presenting its rear when threatened. Unlike French armies of the past, the porcupine is actually stronger from the rear, as their quills have better aim.

via GIPHY

Each quill they shoot? They don’t just stab an attacker, they become imbedded in the skin – and with each step an attacker takes, the quill is designed to move deeper into the body. This leads to more pain, more damage, and, eventually, more infections which, sadly for the predator, often kills them.

Which is probably why the porcupine has few enemies!

But there is one: Meet the fisher. 

It’s bigger than a marten and smaller than a wolverine. And in many ways, it embodies the best (err, deadliest) qualities of each of these mustelids – the name given to the weasel family, of which the fisher is part of – and combines them into one fierce, yet still (mostly) adorable package. 

Though the fisher doesn’t enjoy the martens’ ability to fly from tree to tree, it can jump and hunt effectively in the treetops.

Which means the fisher can climb. It can also dig tunnels. It’s also an effective swimmer. It’s also fast – absurdly fast. And did I mention it has retractable claws just like a wolverine? (This is probably where I should add that fisher tracks can appear, at times, like those of a small child…if a small child was walking by itself in the forest…which, I can tell you from experience, is a spooky sight, even to the trained eye.) 

Though it (likely) can’t take down a deer on its own or chase a bear away from a carcass like its bigger cousin, the wolverine, the fisher is downright powerful and extremely agile. It’s likely why an adult fisher has no known enemies. And it’s probably why it has the confidence to be the main predator of the prickly porcupine.  

That, or it’s a bit crazy. You decide. 

No matter how hard a porcupine tries to keep its front protected from an attack, a fisher is usually able to attack from the front. That’s because of the fisher’s evolutionary superpower: a body built like an accordion and able to lengthen or shorten itself to fit into holes when chasing prey or navigate porcupine quills like a character from the Matrix.

via GIPHY

To make the kill, the fisher flips the porcupine onto its back, rendering the quills ineffective and cuts its neck. Bad-ass.

The fisher is so talented at killing porcupine (they start ‘em young – at just four months they can take out a porcupine), these two normally solitary creatures have combined to form a perfectly synced predator-to-prey relationship.

What

does that

mean?

When there are too many porcupine, fisher populations will increase to bring porcupine levels back to sustainable numbers. When there are too many fishers, porcupines will actually form herds, making it harder for the fisher to attack and, with time, helping bring the fisher population in check. 

And by helping each other stay in balance, they ensure that they serve their forest ecosystems in the best possible way, allowing for just the right amount of regeneration critical to sustaining biodiversity – a societal benefit no matter where you live.  

Though the porcupine is in no risk of decline, both rely on intact, primary forest ecosystems, with the fisher considerably more vulnerable to change. Without the fisher, porcupines don’t just overpopulate, they also lessen the value of trees to the logging industry. So fishers matter to the economy too. 

Which brings me to some good news: we’re starting to understand how to better co-exist with fishers in developed areas. And studies show that fishers, normally very wary of humans, appear to be open to the concept of living near people, so long as people are open to fishers. 

In fact, that’s great news. For biodiversity, sure, but also for you and me. Why? Because one of the few fisher researchers in the world told us that nothing in the animal kingdom smells better than a fisher. Apparently it’s indescribable: “Like cinnamon but so much better.”  

So there you have it: save the fisher, we have a nicer smelling world for all. 

What do you think?

  • How much did you know about porcupine before this story? Fishers? How did you know so much, or why did you know so little about each species?
  • What was the most surprising thing you learned watching/reading this story? Why did you find it surprising? How would you share what you’ve learn from this story with your friends and family?
  • Do you think porcupines and fishers matter? Why or why not?
  • How have your opinions on porcupine (or fisher) been influenced by media and pop culture?
  • Do you think your perspectives on porcupine have been shaped because of the media you’ve consumed in the past? How could you learn more about porcupines and fishers - and different perspectives on them going forward without it becoming a chore?
  • How does the porcupine and fisher relationship impact your world? If either porcupine or fisher disappeared from a region, how might it affect your life? Would it?
  • Do you know if porcupines or fishers live in your area? If they do, are they doing well? Are any threatened?
  • What local decisions impact porcupines and fishers? Are there any citizen science projects to help others learn about porcupines and fishers in your area? Are there community research programs? Any stories about porcupines or fishers? How might different careers influence the future of porcupines and fishers?
  • Do you think our society is making well informed decisions when it comes to porcupine, to fisher? Why do you think that? What would you do better?
  • How might you be a better steward of porcupines or fishers and their relationship through your passions and hobbies?
  • What do we not know when it comes to the porcupine or fisher in Mount Robson, or your community? Do we know enough, or do we need to know more about their role in the ecosystem and their value to biodiversity to make important decisions for people and nature? If so, what?
  • How can we learn to co-exist with creatures such as the fisher, the bear and the cougar?
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