North American Marten

The fishers, also known as the North American Martens are exceptionally skilled hunters who prey on tiny to medium-sized rodents, including but not restricted to rabbits, hares, birds, and porcupines. They are one of the few species of animals with refined hunting techniques. One of the rare predators that can kill porcupines is the North American Marten. They accomplish this by biting the animal on the face, which is free of quills until it is too weak to resist being rolled over and bitten in the soft underbelly. Before the fisher can bite the victim fatally, the attack can frequently last longer than 30 minutes.

The majority of a porcupine's life is spent in trees, where it is protected from predators on the ground. This strategy may be effective against many predators, but it is ineffective against the North American Marten. This long, sleek creature would follow a porcupine up a tree and wear out its target before striking using its superior arboreal skills. A fisher, like a squirrel, can climb a tree before turning around and crashing head first into a porcupine to knock it to the ground. The swift fisher now has the upper hand over its lethargic target once it has reached the ground.

They have two options: assault the porcupine's exposed face or figure out a method to turn it over, leaving it defenseless. Martens are said to be the main predator of porcupines in the United States, perhaps because they enjoy the flavor of their meat, and they would assault the porcupine to consume it. Because of their small size, fishers are specially equipped to attack porcupines, they frequently target the undefended face whereas larger predators try to attack the entire body and battle with the quills. Additionally, the Fisher has been known to consume domestic cats and small dogs as well as chicks from chicken coops when a marten's environment has been disturbed by human settlement. Martens are extremely proficient hunters.