They'll eat near any tree .. from the base to the last limb. Softwood/hardwood, they don't seem to care. Some years are worse than others, but sometimes it seems like every tree in the yard (40 acres) is stripped... other years.. like this year... they are stripped here and there, so I think the Fishers I've seen in the yard have been eating some of the Porqupines. For the most part, the trees seem to deal with it somehow. The same pine out by the pool has been stripped bare a few times and is currently patchy in spots from fresh eating..... but the fella responsible is done chewing.. permanently!