Can any animals eat porcupines? Surely not as\u00a0porcupine quills present an impenetrable thicket to most predators.<\/p>\n
But these backward-pointing defences are only effective if the rodent can keep its assailant to its rear.<\/p>\n
In North America,\u00a0pumas\u00a0and\u00a0fishers\u00a0(marten-like mammals) are skilled porcupine predators, outmanoeuvring their quarry to launch their attacks from the front, or flipping the animal over to expose its soft underbelly.<\/p>\n
Strangely, many snakes cannot resist a porcupine, even though they can be mortally wounded by the quills at the point of swallowing.<\/p>\n
There is evidence, too, that porcupine-related injuries can turn lions, particularly young males, into man-eaters, if either the wound or resulting infection prevents them from hunting their usual prey.<\/p>\n