Information on Fisher Cats

The fisher is an aggressive predator found in the northernmost forests of North America. It is at home on the land or in the trees, being so capable of moving about in the branches that it has gained a reputation as one of the fastest animals in that environment. Fishers are also known as pekans, tree foxes, black cats and as fisher cats. These last two names cause confusion about its family roots.

Misconceptions

The fisher is not a member of the cat family by any means, nor does it eat a large number of fish. The fisher belongs to the Mustelidae family and is a large weasel. It may have garnered its name from the early French settlers in the regions where it was common, as the European polecat species was called a "fitch" and the hides of those animals were referred to as "fichet", which probably morphed into fisher and fisher cat.

Geography

The fisher resides in North America from the southeastern portions of Alaska eastward to Hudson Bay in Canada. Its range extends south to the northern fringe of states in the US. It has made its way as far south as Connecticut in New England and there are fisher populations in parts of the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming and in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. The fisher requires large stands of coniferous forests or woodlands consisting of a mix of softwood and hardwood trees to flourish. It will make its home in a large hollowed-out tree or in a den in the ground. The creature is rarely seen by humans as it is secretive and stealthy.

Identification

The fisher possesses an extended body with short legs and a tail that is both bushy and long in length. The color of its fur ranges from a very dark shade of brown to nearly black. The darkest fur will be on the feet, rump area, and the tail while the head and the shoulder region will be lighter. Some will have a white marking on the chest. The male fisher can be 40 inches long, with the tail providing more than a third of that length while the females will be shorter. Males can weigh up to 14 pounds; the females are much lighter, with a 6-pound specimen being large.

Types

The fisher is a voracious predator that has few enemies in the forests where it hunts. It is able to attack and kills animals as large as raccoons and it will also eat martens, which are a similar but smaller weasel species. The kittens of bobcats are on the menu and the snowshoe hare is a favorite meal of the fisher. Red squirrels are at risk of becoming a fisher's meal as are grouse, ptarmigan, voles, mice, rats, shrews, frogs, mink, and even otters. When berries and nuts are in season a fisher will consume then and fishers have been known to store away food for a later date, marking it as its own with the musk from its scent glands.

Expert Insight

The fisher is the unquestioned expert at killing and eating the porcupine. It has perfected a method to avoid the dangerous quills that discourage most other predators from launching an attack. The fisher will focus on the animal's face where there are no quills and eventually be able to get at the porcupine's throat. Once the porcupine is dead, the fisher will turn it over and eat from the exposed belly section. Porcupines are at risk from a fisher even in the trees, unless it can somehow get out on a branch and turn its back on the fisher.