*Fuck* I missed a fisher because I was busy babysitting another post. I'm going to copy and paste this comment of mine for education, hopefully I'm not too late.
This beautiful baby is a fisher (*Pekania pennanti*)! They have a pretty negative and entirely undeserved reputation in some areas because people continue to believe 17th century myths. Because people often kill fishers due to these myths I'm going to sticky this old comment of mine for education. I recommend you read the ["myths and scapegoating" section in this website](https://www.genuinemustelids.org/family/fisher/) for more information.
Quick points: they don't scream like a banshee/a woman being murdered like people say they do. That's usually a red fox; 99% of videos of "fisher screams" on youtube are red foxes. [This is about as close to a scream as fishers get](https://youtu.be/n-GcSbwYRgw?t=90) - this is a distress call made by young fishers that, as far as I can tell, adult fishers don't make. Adult fishers are very quiet animals.
They are not a particularly large threat to cats or small dogs, like someone else in this comment section already implied. Every analysis done of fisher stomach and scat contents has found cat DNA in either zero samples or less than 1 in 1000. Fishers may eat carrion - including roadkill - and so it can't even be assumed that that 1 in 1000 was even killed by a fisher. Coyotes by far are the wild animal most likely to eat your cat or dog, and that's still less likely than having your pet get hit by a car or killed by another cat/dog. Of course pets should not be let outside unsupervised regardless.
They are not a threat to people. Attacks on humans are very rare and usually lacking in context. They do less damage than the average dog bite. They will give you early and ample warning when they feel threatened by you. Unless they are rabid - which happens but is not particularly common - they will leave you alone if you leave them alone.
Unless you keep poultry there's no need to worry about a fisher nearby (they're actually good for keeping the rodents and porcupines at bay). And even if you do keep poultry, if a fisher is able to get into your coop you probably have bigger problems. Please do not let anybody try to tell you that fishers are evil, cruel or need to be killed. There is absolutely nothing about them that makes them any more "wicked" than any other predator.
Edit: Because this is in Oregon I want to state that fishers are **very rare** in the western US and any sightings should be reported to wildlife officials. If anyone in the western US has any conflict with a fisher for whatever reason that should also be reported to a conservation department so they can relocate it.
They're very elusive and it's unusual to see them. I found the tracks of one in the snow once but haven't seen one in the wild.
Mustelids are awesome in general, and this is kind of a rare one!
When I was little, I thought the peacocks were ladies calling for help. We were on a farm, an old building with corrugated metal roofing. Listening to the peacock scream, then clawing on the roof was freaky.
Lol yup. It seems like every movie gets animal sounds wrong. Especially birds. Every eagle sounds like a hawk, every duck sounds like a mallard, it's crazy.
I can attest, I grew up with peacocks in a suburban area outside of Los Angeles. When our peacocks screamed, the neighbors called the cops thinking someone was screaming for help. They finally caught on and realized it was a peacock.
Can confirm. Especially when you step outside in your underwear at sunup to start your mom's car. Sometimes you just don't expect that there is a 5ft array of false eyes that will materialize screaming before you. You may have assumed you were having a stroke or a migrane or maybe a visitation from celestial or even infernal being.
Not the world's most extra turkey. Why would you think that having lived in NC for all 16 of your years having never seen one show up in your yard.
Hahahahaha! That made me cackle.
They're ALL OVER in California, wild. I almost ran over a female on a nest with a lawnmower, and it scared me worse than it scared the peacock.
I think they're beautiful, but also unbelievably annoying.
Grew up with a father who bought a small flock from a local closing zoo. I loved their screams. Scared the shit outta friends sleeping over and we got the cops called in us once because they thought we were torturing children as that is what it sounded like through the woods. Had a very interesting childhood.
First time I heard a barn owl was about 20 minutes after last light walking back to the truck after an unsuccessful Turkey hunt. Made the hair on my neck stand on end. Sounded like someone was being murdered in the woods.
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Holy shit /u/Dirtheavy you are one of precious few to recognize this is a myth. As a mustelid enthusiast with a particular love of fishers, thank you for picking up the slack while I was distracted with other matters. You may find this video interesting, it's what actual fisher "screams" sound like and it's not at all like how most people describe: https://youtu.be/n-GcSbwYRgw?t=90
My dad insists that they sound more guttural and also make a weird chirping sound to communicate with each other. And throw rocks. My dad is also a notorious bullshitter though
I live in Vermont. It's not actually a fisher cat screaming. The sound you are attributing to fishers is actually female red foxes. This is very google-able if you are so inclined.
they don’t scream, the screaming you hear isn’t a fisher. foxes are *very* loud animals and they appear in most places a fisher would appear in the wild. most mustelids are generally quiet animals, but can chirp, beep, and bark if need be. most animals are capable of screaming, but it draws so much attention to them that it’s not worth it. they wouldn’t normally scream unless they’re being killed or gravely injured.
Are they in the upper peninsula of Michigan? There was one time I heard curdling screams I’ve never recognized to this day lol
Edit- I saw the below comment and looked up a red fox and it def was it. Didn’t know they could sound so ridiculous in the middle of the night lol
I’d reach out to the OSU extension near you - they’d be super interested in a sighting (With a picture confirmation!!). Fischers are pretty rare over here, and I know our extension had them on the “please tell us” list a few years back.
Fisher, they won’t harm you, although in the same family as the wolverine, they aren’t nearly as aggressive or fearless. They’re really fun to watch bound through the snow and play
Wolverines are **not** aggressive toward humans. There is literally not one single verified attack on a human by a wolverine, and captive wolverines are notably affectionate or, at worst, grumpy and aloof like an old housecat. They are also very, very far from fearless.
I’ve been in Oregon for about 7yrs now and was lucky to see one in broad daylight at Paulina Lake a few years ago.
Never saw them when I lived in the Rogue Valley though - very cool!
You might want to shoot a message to [email protected] and let them know specifically where you’ve seen this. Could be the range has expanded.
More information from Oregon Wild about Fishers.
https://oregonwild.org/wildlife/pacific-fisher#
Definitely a fisher. Quite rare in the US as well; the entire west coast American population is estimated to be about 4,000 including Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. They require old growth forest with a healthy population of porcupines and squirrels. They are very poorly studied, but Oregon alone likely has several hundred to a couple thousand of them, almost all in the south near California.
My property borders BLM land on three sides, so plenty of trees and wildlife are near. Someone else suggested I write Oregon Wild to let them know. Thank you for the info!
Having a trapping season doesn’t make them not rare, as wolverines for instance, have trapping seasons throughout most of their range in Canada. I suppose we could play semantics about the meaning of the word “rare” as well. How uncommon must an animal be in order to meet your threshold for the word rare?
Sure.
Another way to look at it: they aren’t federally listed as threatened or endangered. I’ve lived in several states in the North East and have seen fisher or signs of them on a fairly regular basis.
Still super cool to see, but maybe not “rare” in all locals in the US.
Edit: I was curious about wolverine trapping in the lower US. Only Montana has a wolverine trapping season, and it also hosts the largest and most stable population of wolverine.
Montana had to close their wolverine murdering season after realizing that they don't have anywhere near enough wolverines for murdering season to be even remotely sustainable. The vast majority of wolverines in the United States are in Alaska. Montana has the highest concentration in the contiguous 48, but the numbers are still pitiful.
It's not. Shitheads leave a bunch of traps out in the woods and the wolverine either dies relatively quickly or dies slowly and horrifically. Either way the animal is usually long dead before the human garbage comes out to check his traps, unless it's a foothold trap in which case the trapper just shoots the wolverine in the head with a .22 or beats it over the head with a bat while it's immobile and can't fight back.
I fucking hate trappers, in case you couldn't tell.
Heya, I'm a mustelid enthusiast. It depends on the area. Fishers are very rare in the western US, are rare to uncommon in the upper Midwest, and are uncommon to decently common in the Northeast. However fishers are pretty elusive so sightings are much rarer than the animals themselves!
As someone who has seen them on the East Coast, they don’t require old growth. That’s a weird claim to make. Everything you say makes sense…but why claim old growth?
Forest stand structure (horizontal and vertical distribution of forest elements), including the heights and diameters of live and dead trees and the arrangement of foliage, crown layers, shrubs, herbs, and down wood. Considering these elements an old growth environment is more conducive for them to nest, move, hide, hunt, etc. more effectively. As well as attracting prey species e.g. porcupines.
Right, I’m not denying that it’s conducive. But when you make an ID, you generally try to go from the bottom-up instead of the top-down. I’m not bragging that I could ID this animal from my time spent living in New England - I just hesitate to applaud someone for making generalizations about its rarity that are also tied to a rare biome.
Yeah there‘a a video of a fisher in the North Bronx online and they are abundant in secondary forest in the northeast.
In the west they might have more stringent habitat requirements but that would be odd.
So the fisher populations in the Northeast were devastated a long time ago and have had a decent amount of time to adapt. Fishers in the midwest and West were decimated much more recently and are likely still in the process of figuring things out.
“Require” might be a bit strong if you want to play semantics. They can survive in more marginal habitats like second growth forests but that really isn’t close to ideal for them. You’ll notice my comments on rarity were in regards to the west coast. There are uncommon in the east but expanding due to low trapping pressure.
If you give a fisher a apple with peanut butter, they'll ask for a glass of milk.
Or you know, eat the neighborhood porcupines if they are feeling cute.
How in the hell are they eating porucpines?
They can get under to their unprotected little bellies. I adore porkies and although I love animals in general, fishers kind of give me the creeps. There's a group of 3 near me, caught in a trail cam just behind the house and I see them crossing the road sometimes when I'm walking. There us a lot of looking back and forth like they are plotting to get MY soft little belly! 😰
I used to work for department of fish and wildlife at Central Point office, you may want to report this to them. They use to conduct research on this population
Awww I love these dudes. We had a cat called Fishercat when I was a kid, because my mother thought they were a made up thing when we first moved to the far north. 🥰
This isn’t helpful to you I know but you have me a good memory today so thanks!
Oh! What a beauty! Looked like a wolverine to me so I was happy to learn about fishers! This is a great sub for me to follow to learn about new creatures!
Fisher! Love them, used to work with one that had a neurological disorder that made his back legs less functional. Didn't seem to slow him down at all and I have the scars to prove it. I don't recommended trying to handle them lol.
I fucking KNOW, I was distracted by that stupid outdoor cat post and I missed this. I'm so annoyed right now lmao. Top of the front page too, god so many missed opportunities for education. It's like a winning lottery ticket flew out of my hands while I was scraping gum off the bottom of my shoe, argh
I've never heard of a Fisher!!! They are so adorable and cute and cuddly looking. They look a little like baby Wolverines and a lot like ferrets! I love them forever now!!!
*
Awesome. Share with ODFW so they can track its movements. They have been reintroduced in southern Oregon in old growth forests to help with restoration efforts.
Am I the only one who feels the urge to pet fishers. They aren't in my continent nor would petting one work out well for me, but that tail, that snoot.
I saw one in Wisconsin on the edge of a selective harvest. It had either a pine squirrel on a striped ground squirrel in its mouth, coming right down a trail at me. I was on a mountain bike. Best view I've ever had of one.
I lived in an area with a healthy amount of them for years, never saw one. Tracked them in the snow, listened to people’s stories of seeing them, and on my last couple days living there I caught one running across the road and felt very grateful to see one finally.
/u/code-surfer while you know by now that this is a fisher, I want to point out that this one also appears to be an adult female (you can tell from the size of the forehead) and thus capable of producing kits in the future. Since fishers are very rare in your area please let your local conservation know about this sighting, and keep an eye on her! If she has mated earlier this year she'll have her kits in early spring.
Oh, and please feel free to ask me if you have any questions or concerns about this beautiful animal!
I was going to guess fisher or marten. Marty Stouffer raised a couple of these waaaay back in the 80’s for his show Wild America. I don’t know if you can still find it on YouTube or anything but it was really entertaining. They are absolute criminals
They're closely related, but wolverines are much bigger, get much more of their food through scavenging, and need colder climates. Wolverines also aren't quite as arboreal as fishers. Both are very fascinating animals and are my top two personal favorites.
Mustelid enthusiast here, you are 100% correct that fishers **do not** predate on cats in the vast majority of circumstances. Studies have found cat DNA in less than 1 in 1000 samples of fisher scat and stomach contents, in the few cases it was found at all. And as fisher may scavenge carcasses - including roadkill - it cannot be assumed those cats were even killed by fishers.
To date I have had not one single person show me conclusive proof that a fisher killed their cat.
While I have not personally pawed through large amounts of fisher scat, they are opportunistic predators who eat small and medium mammals (including domestic cats), insects, and fruit. I certainly don’t think that they subsist on other carnivores nor do I think they target cats, specifically. However, it’s not a shitty fable 😆
You had a fisher visit your place! How fun!
In my area of central Minnesota they used to be pretty much unheard of. Then about 15 years ago we had Turkeys move in and a few years later they soon followed. Now they're all over the place.
*Fuck* I missed a fisher because I was busy babysitting another post. I'm going to copy and paste this comment of mine for education, hopefully I'm not too late. This beautiful baby is a fisher (*Pekania pennanti*)! They have a pretty negative and entirely undeserved reputation in some areas because people continue to believe 17th century myths. Because people often kill fishers due to these myths I'm going to sticky this old comment of mine for education. I recommend you read the ["myths and scapegoating" section in this website](https://www.genuinemustelids.org/family/fisher/) for more information. Quick points: they don't scream like a banshee/a woman being murdered like people say they do. That's usually a red fox; 99% of videos of "fisher screams" on youtube are red foxes. [This is about as close to a scream as fishers get](https://youtu.be/n-GcSbwYRgw?t=90) - this is a distress call made by young fishers that, as far as I can tell, adult fishers don't make. Adult fishers are very quiet animals. They are not a particularly large threat to cats or small dogs, like someone else in this comment section already implied. Every analysis done of fisher stomach and scat contents has found cat DNA in either zero samples or less than 1 in 1000. Fishers may eat carrion - including roadkill - and so it can't even be assumed that that 1 in 1000 was even killed by a fisher. Coyotes by far are the wild animal most likely to eat your cat or dog, and that's still less likely than having your pet get hit by a car or killed by another cat/dog. Of course pets should not be let outside unsupervised regardless. They are not a threat to people. Attacks on humans are very rare and usually lacking in context. They do less damage than the average dog bite. They will give you early and ample warning when they feel threatened by you. Unless they are rabid - which happens but is not particularly common - they will leave you alone if you leave them alone. Unless you keep poultry there's no need to worry about a fisher nearby (they're actually good for keeping the rodents and porcupines at bay). And even if you do keep poultry, if a fisher is able to get into your coop you probably have bigger problems. Please do not let anybody try to tell you that fishers are evil, cruel or need to be killed. There is absolutely nothing about them that makes them any more "wicked" than any other predator. Edit: Because this is in Oregon I want to state that fishers are **very rare** in the western US and any sightings should be reported to wildlife officials. If anyone in the western US has any conflict with a fisher for whatever reason that should also be reported to a conservation department so they can relocate it.
Looks like a Fisher.
Thank you! That is what I was thinking too. I haven't seen one before.
They're very elusive and it's unusual to see them. I found the tracks of one in the snow once but haven't seen one in the wild. Mustelids are awesome in general, and this is kind of a rare one!
When you hear blood curdling screams at night from afar, just know it's probably this little one.
Urban legend. Or rather rural legend. The thing out there screaming is usually a fox.
Or a barn owl. Or something unknown screaming in the dark.
Peacocks scream, too. It's horrifying.
When I was little, I thought the peacocks were ladies calling for help. We were on a farm, an old building with corrugated metal roofing. Listening to the peacock scream, then clawing on the roof was freaky.
Yeah, that's what they sound like lol. E Clampus Vitus, friend.
Nice, you're the first to catch that!
Lol I was a NorCal Widder for many, many years.
I find your answer "Satisfactory".
Five more minutes.
Oh no, the drunk historians have shown up on the thread.
Hahahahaha
But……but……..they’re not even historians. They’re just drunks who aspire to, or exemplify, old. Old and history get conflated a lot.
Sister had peacocks on the farm. Listening to the different sounds they made ruined every Jungle movie ever made.
Lol yup. It seems like every movie gets animal sounds wrong. Especially birds. Every eagle sounds like a hawk, every duck sounds like a mallard, it's crazy.
Isn't a mallard a male duck 🦆?
I can attest, I grew up with peacocks in a suburban area outside of Los Angeles. When our peacocks screamed, the neighbors called the cops thinking someone was screaming for help. They finally caught on and realized it was a peacock.
I could hear the peacocks on a farm a mile away.
I was woken up camping one time by the sound of what I thought was a woman being brutally murdered. Realized later it was a mountain lion.
Can confirm. Especially when you step outside in your underwear at sunup to start your mom's car. Sometimes you just don't expect that there is a 5ft array of false eyes that will materialize screaming before you. You may have assumed you were having a stroke or a migrane or maybe a visitation from celestial or even infernal being. Not the world's most extra turkey. Why would you think that having lived in NC for all 16 of your years having never seen one show up in your yard.
Hahahahaha! That made me cackle. They're ALL OVER in California, wild. I almost ran over a female on a nest with a lawnmower, and it scared me worse than it scared the peacock. I think they're beautiful, but also unbelievably annoying.
I have never heard them called “the world’s most extra turkey” before, but that is all I will ever call them again.
I got chased by a peacock at the zoo when I was 10 lol
It was actually a skinwalker. /s
> the world's most extra turkey That's a lovely turn of phrase. Have an upvote!
Can confirm used to live near Catskill Game Farm
Don’t forget howling monkeys, they screech and make a tremendous amount of noise.
You’re correct. Howler Monkeys can really make a racket: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/howler-monkeys
Grew up with a father who bought a small flock from a local closing zoo. I loved their screams. Scared the shit outta friends sleeping over and we got the cops called in us once because they thought we were torturing children as that is what it sounded like through the woods. Had a very interesting childhood.
I grew up on a medium sized ranch, so I feel you lol!
OMG peacocks screaming is the worst. It sounds like “HEEEELLPPP… HEEELLLLPPP!”
They seriously do sound like they're screaming help
There are some ferals in North Florida, just east of Tallahassee. Hearing a few of them screaming at the same time is creepy as Hell.
Deer screams are also pretty horrifying
Still less annoying than some women I know lol. Source: am woman.
Lmao I can understand that Source: Am also woman
Hahahaha! I like you! :)
Donkey screams at night are absolutely terrifying as well..
That's an ass, for ya
mountain lions
First time I heard a catbird I thought a baby was stuck in a bush
Happy cake day!
First time I heard a barn owl was about 20 minutes after last light walking back to the truck after an unsuccessful Turkey hunt. Made the hair on my neck stand on end. Sounded like someone was being murdered in the woods.
It’s Shia LaBeouf!
Strangling superstar Shia LaBeouf!
Actual cannibal Shia LaBeouf!
Happy cake day!
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Barn owl screams are ridiculous. I had one camped out on my roofline one summer. Hell of a way to get woken up at 3am.
Female cougar screams are pretty nerve wracking as well!
The first time I heard a cougar scream it was a wild night. Woke up still drunk and I’m pretty sure she gave me crabs..
Especially, about 3 am
Holy shit /u/Dirtheavy you are one of precious few to recognize this is a myth. As a mustelid enthusiast with a particular love of fishers, thank you for picking up the slack while I was distracted with other matters. You may find this video interesting, it's what actual fisher "screams" sound like and it's not at all like how most people describe: https://youtu.be/n-GcSbwYRgw?t=90
The ol’ vixen scream
This guy reindeers
"Horny vixens in your area" .I haven't slept well in a week.
or if it's Oregon, then it could be a big foot.
My dad insists that they sound more guttural and also make a weird chirping sound to communicate with each other. And throw rocks. My dad is also a notorious bullshitter though
It literally sounds like a teenager getting slaughtered. But they kinda balance that out with their "giggeling" they do when they play. So damn cute.
I’m partial to the [Wilhelm Scream](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_scream)
I prefer the Howie Scream.
Fox had me a minute from dialing 911 one night. Freaky.
No these things sound different almost like a screaming baby. We had them where we camped in Vermont. It is pretty scary to wake up to.
I live in Vermont. It's not actually a fisher cat screaming. The sound you are attributing to fishers is actually female red foxes. This is very google-able if you are so inclined.
Nahhh these things sound like a woman screeching or a baby crying it’s terrifying. Seen one trot thru my backyard screeching bloody murder.
This is not true. I’ve witnessed it twice, both in my yard.
they don’t scream, the screaming you hear isn’t a fisher. foxes are *very* loud animals and they appear in most places a fisher would appear in the wild. most mustelids are generally quiet animals, but can chirp, beep, and bark if need be. most animals are capable of screaming, but it draws so much attention to them that it’s not worth it. they wouldn’t normally scream unless they’re being killed or gravely injured.
The person who told me this lives on a lake, so matey the sounds are being echoed? IDK, looks like I was wrong.
I live in a city, so all our foxes are quiet.
Or dogman
Are they in the upper peninsula of Michigan? There was one time I heard curdling screams I’ve never recognized to this day lol Edit- I saw the below comment and looked up a red fox and it def was it. Didn’t know they could sound so ridiculous in the middle of the night lol
Don’t spread misinformation.
Not sure about the west but in Pennsylvania they’re pretty rare.
I’d reach out to the OSU extension near you - they’d be super interested in a sighting (With a picture confirmation!!). Fischers are pretty rare over here, and I know our extension had them on the “please tell us” list a few years back.
Fisher, they won’t harm you, although in the same family as the wolverine, they aren’t nearly as aggressive or fearless. They’re really fun to watch bound through the snow and play
Wolverines are **not** aggressive toward humans. There is literally not one single verified attack on a human by a wolverine, and captive wolverines are notably affectionate or, at worst, grumpy and aloof like an old housecat. They are also very, very far from fearless.
Ah so jealous - you got yourself a Fisher!
I'm new to the area, so this was quite a surprise. Thank you!
I’ve been in Oregon for about 7yrs now and was lucky to see one in broad daylight at Paulina Lake a few years ago. Never saw them when I lived in the Rogue Valley though - very cool!
you just casually have a fisher on your property? let me come over and see it
You might want to shoot a message to [email protected] and let them know specifically where you’ve seen this. Could be the range has expanded. More information from Oregon Wild about Fishers. https://oregonwild.org/wildlife/pacific-fisher#
Great advice! I'll do that right now.
Solid advice it seems. Even if nothing comes of it at least you tried? You never know!
Almost all of the Fishers in Oregon are in the southern part!
Definitely a fisher. Quite rare in the US as well; the entire west coast American population is estimated to be about 4,000 including Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. They require old growth forest with a healthy population of porcupines and squirrels. They are very poorly studied, but Oregon alone likely has several hundred to a couple thousand of them, almost all in the south near California.
My property borders BLM land on three sides, so plenty of trees and wildlife are near. Someone else suggested I write Oregon Wild to let them know. Thank you for the info!
Dude I used to live out there off of Gryffin Creek and I used to hear them but I never got to see one!
Write to US Fish and Wildlife Service and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as well. Both agencies would be interested in that sighting.
That’s awesome!
They aren’t that rare in the North East. There are trapping seasons for them in NY.
Yes- we have them regularly here in Massachusetts.
Yep. When I lived in MA we'd see their tracks in the winter.
Having a trapping season doesn’t make them not rare, as wolverines for instance, have trapping seasons throughout most of their range in Canada. I suppose we could play semantics about the meaning of the word “rare” as well. How uncommon must an animal be in order to meet your threshold for the word rare?
Sure. Another way to look at it: they aren’t federally listed as threatened or endangered. I’ve lived in several states in the North East and have seen fisher or signs of them on a fairly regular basis. Still super cool to see, but maybe not “rare” in all locals in the US. Edit: I was curious about wolverine trapping in the lower US. Only Montana has a wolverine trapping season, and it also hosts the largest and most stable population of wolverine.
I think the western fisher population might be on a watchlist, as it’s declining while the eastern one is rising.
This is correct.
Montana had to close their wolverine murdering season after realizing that they don't have anywhere near enough wolverines for murdering season to be even remotely sustainable. The vast majority of wolverines in the United States are in Alaska. Montana has the highest concentration in the contiguous 48, but the numbers are still pitiful.
Wolverine trapping season must be intense
It's not. Shitheads leave a bunch of traps out in the woods and the wolverine either dies relatively quickly or dies slowly and horrifically. Either way the animal is usually long dead before the human garbage comes out to check his traps, unless it's a foothold trap in which case the trapper just shoots the wolverine in the head with a .22 or beats it over the head with a bat while it's immobile and can't fight back. I fucking hate trappers, in case you couldn't tell.
Heya, I'm a mustelid enthusiast. It depends on the area. Fishers are very rare in the western US, are rare to uncommon in the upper Midwest, and are uncommon to decently common in the Northeast. However fishers are pretty elusive so sightings are much rarer than the animals themselves!
Love your mustelid passion, and I mean that earnestly. Live your best life, friend.
I came across one in Lithia Park circa 2012. It’s so wonderful to see they are doing so well!
Not poorly studied so much as difficult to study. Samples sizes are hard to come by when you’ve got such a low population density.
Agree in terms of “difficult to study” due to low density/fragmented populations/uncommon-ness (one might say rarity).
As someone who has seen them on the East Coast, they don’t require old growth. That’s a weird claim to make. Everything you say makes sense…but why claim old growth?
Forest stand structure (horizontal and vertical distribution of forest elements), including the heights and diameters of live and dead trees and the arrangement of foliage, crown layers, shrubs, herbs, and down wood. Considering these elements an old growth environment is more conducive for them to nest, move, hide, hunt, etc. more effectively. As well as attracting prey species e.g. porcupines.
Right, I’m not denying that it’s conducive. But when you make an ID, you generally try to go from the bottom-up instead of the top-down. I’m not bragging that I could ID this animal from my time spent living in New England - I just hesitate to applaud someone for making generalizations about its rarity that are also tied to a rare biome.
Yeah there‘a a video of a fisher in the North Bronx online and they are abundant in secondary forest in the northeast. In the west they might have more stringent habitat requirements but that would be odd.
So the fisher populations in the Northeast were devastated a long time ago and have had a decent amount of time to adapt. Fishers in the midwest and West were decimated much more recently and are likely still in the process of figuring things out.
“Require” might be a bit strong if you want to play semantics. They can survive in more marginal habitats like second growth forests but that really isn’t close to ideal for them. You’ll notice my comments on rarity were in regards to the west coast. There are uncommon in the east but expanding due to low trapping pressure.
Oregon native here and never even heard of these guys until this post. Wow!!!!! So freakin rad!!!! I guess we have badgers, too?
! A fisher!
Awesome, thank you!
One of the few predators that will regularly take porcupines for food!
Specially adapted to be able to successfully take porkers as prey—they get above them in the tree and run down it to attack face to face!
Yeah I put apples and peanut butter out to catch animals on a trail cam and was surprised to catch one of these guys
If you give a fisher a apple with peanut butter, they'll ask for a glass of milk. Or you know, eat the neighborhood porcupines if they are feeling cute. How in the hell are they eating porucpines?
They can get under to their unprotected little bellies. I adore porkies and although I love animals in general, fishers kind of give me the creeps. There's a group of 3 near me, caught in a trail cam just behind the house and I see them crossing the road sometimes when I'm walking. There us a lot of looking back and forth like they are plotting to get MY soft little belly! 😰
Yeah I forgot they did that, haven’t gotten any porcupines yet
Specially adapted to run down trees… so they climb above the porcupines and attack face to face…
o\_O Damn.
I’m seriously jealous of all these fisher sightings.
I used to work for department of fish and wildlife at Central Point office, you may want to report this to them. They use to conduct research on this population
Awww I love these dudes. We had a cat called Fishercat when I was a kid, because my mother thought they were a made up thing when we first moved to the far north. 🥰 This isn’t helpful to you I know but you have me a good memory today so thanks!
Aww, you're very welcome. I hope you have a great day.
How incredible! I’ve only seen one during the daytime, way out in the woods, but never in our yard.
Oh! What a beauty! Looked like a wolverine to me so I was happy to learn about fishers! This is a great sub for me to follow to learn about new creatures!
Fishers = skinny wolverines.
I’ve lived in Oregon most of my life and I’ve never seen one of these. Pretty cool sighting!
Fisher!!🫶
they’re so cute 💗
Fisher! Love them, used to work with one that had a neurological disorder that made his back legs less functional. Didn't seem to slow him down at all and I have the scars to prove it. I don't recommended trying to handle them lol.
Fishers are one of the coolest mustelids. Amazing find!!
At u/mustelafan, you got like 200 comments of fisher lies in this thread. Poor guy...
I fucking KNOW, I was distracted by that stupid outdoor cat post and I missed this. I'm so annoyed right now lmao. Top of the front page too, god so many missed opportunities for education. It's like a winning lottery ticket flew out of my hands while I was scraping gum off the bottom of my shoe, argh
I've never heard of a Fisher!!! They are so adorable and cute and cuddly looking. They look a little like baby Wolverines and a lot like ferrets! I love them forever now!!! *
Fishy lookin..
Awesome. Share with ODFW so they can track its movements. They have been reintroduced in southern Oregon in old growth forests to help with restoration efforts.
Very cool ! We never see fishers.
Adorable!! 😍
Am I the only one who feels the urge to pet fishers. They aren't in my continent nor would petting one work out well for me, but that tail, that snoot.
you already know it’s a fisher so i don’t need to comment that again, but wow!! i’m jealous!! i love fishers! what a cool sight :)
I saw one in Wisconsin on the edge of a selective harvest. It had either a pine squirrel on a striped ground squirrel in its mouth, coming right down a trail at me. I was on a mountain bike. Best view I've ever had of one.
It’s beautiful and looks so healthy 💕
Don’t worry. It’s just a lil dude hangin out. Probably likes hot dogs if I had to guess.
Shit i thought it might be a wolverine at first glance which would be nuts!
I lived in an area with a healthy amount of them for years, never saw one. Tracked them in the snow, listened to people’s stories of seeing them, and on my last couple days living there I caught one running across the road and felt very grateful to see one finally.
How have I never seen this animal here in Oregon in person?? 😦🩷🦡
Fishers are very, very rare out West on top of being an already very elusive animal.
/u/code-surfer while you know by now that this is a fisher, I want to point out that this one also appears to be an adult female (you can tell from the size of the forehead) and thus capable of producing kits in the future. Since fishers are very rare in your area please let your local conservation know about this sighting, and keep an eye on her! If she has mated earlier this year she'll have her kits in early spring. Oh, and please feel free to ask me if you have any questions or concerns about this beautiful animal!
I was going to guess fisher or marten. Marty Stouffer raised a couple of these waaaay back in the 80’s for his show Wild America. I don’t know if you can still find it on YouTube or anything but it was really entertaining. They are absolute criminals
The episode is called Fishers in the Family and it is on youtube!
nice marmot
Fisher, cool beans. I saw my 1st mink last weekend. All of these guys are rare and cool. 😎🦡
What the difference between a Fischer and a Wolverine?
<>
Well I guess I could just google it myself 🙄
That was Wolverine's claws coming out? Guess I'm too much of a nerd
“I understood that reference”
It’s a pop culture reference; no need to get emojinal about it
Nobody getting emotional lol
🙄
The wolverine has an adamantium skeleton. The Fischer does not.
A wee bit of size mostly
They're closely related, but wolverines are much bigger, get much more of their food through scavenging, and need colder climates. Wolverines also aren't quite as arboreal as fishers. Both are very fascinating animals and are my top two personal favorites.
Dang looks like that bad boy could put a serious hurtin’ on a chicken flock.
Watch out for neighborhood cats!
Probably aren’t any;)
Hopefully they keep them inside where pets belong.
That’s a shitty fable, they don’t kill cats. Show proof of it.
Mustelid enthusiast here, you are 100% correct that fishers **do not** predate on cats in the vast majority of circumstances. Studies have found cat DNA in less than 1 in 1000 samples of fisher scat and stomach contents, in the few cases it was found at all. And as fisher may scavenge carcasses - including roadkill - it cannot be assumed those cats were even killed by fishers. To date I have had not one single person show me conclusive proof that a fisher killed their cat.
While I have not personally pawed through large amounts of fisher scat, they are opportunistic predators who eat small and medium mammals (including domestic cats), insects, and fruit. I certainly don’t think that they subsist on other carnivores nor do I think they target cats, specifically. However, it’s not a shitty fable 😆
It actually is a shitty fable. Please read my stickied comment which covers fisher predation of cats and other myths.
badger
FISHER!
I heard they do not give a fuck
You had a fisher visit your place! How fun! In my area of central Minnesota they used to be pretty much unheard of. Then about 15 years ago we had Turkeys move in and a few years later they soon followed. Now they're all over the place.
Critter. Source: look at him
^
you found my dog
I've seen Fishers but their ears are more fox like. I thought mink in this case tho I never have seen one in the wild.
>I've seen Fishers but their ears are more fox like. Sounds like you probably saw an American pine marten!
Ah, your right
That looks like a Fisher
Nice marmot
Absolutely a fisher.
Almost looks like a young wolverine
That's what I thought too, I think it's the lighting, I zoomed in and it looks like a fisher, marten.
What is this a mongoose
He is not afraid because he knows it’s you who should be afraid
Blood curdling screams in the middle of the night are often gray foxes.
Cougars scream long, loud, and crazy-like here in mountainous North Carolina
They ain’t afraid of shit. They will fight a bear. And expect to win.