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Whenever the subject of fishers comes up, you hear they’re mean, nasty and vicious – a smaller wolverine with attitude. Fishers get a pretty bad rap, but when they do, there’s a great deal of projecting and anthropomorphizing going on.
Fishers aren’t mean or evil, and they don’t really eat many house cats at all.
What members of the mustelid family (the weasels) are is uncompromisingly aggressive, which is why they are such efficient and successful hunters, from the wolverine to the fisher and marten to the ermine and weasel. I also believe they get blamed for acts which they are not responsible for. Great horned owls, for example, have smaller territories than fishers and are probably much more likely to take your cat.
The ancestors of fishers appear in North America between two and a half to five million years ago. Individual remains from 125,000 years ago, show no significant anatomical differences from modern day fishers.
Fishers are meso predators who defend and scent mark territories of about three square miles in summer, and five in winter. They prefer mature conifer forests with good cover, large trees and fallen logs with hollows for denning. Fishers may also den under bushes or in crevices. Fisher territories often overlap, and like cats, are frequently patrolled using shared, common routes. Male fishers have slightly larger territories, which overlap female territories, making it easier to find females for mating.
Fishers are seasonally brown to dark brown to mottled in summer, with moulting between summer and winter. Male fishers average three to four feet long, and can reach 8 to 13 pounds, females about half that. Despite the sometimes common name “fisher cat,” fishers are not cats, nor do they eat much fish, even though they are great swimmers, as well as climbers.
Fishers have small round ears to prevent heat loss, and broad, blackish five-toed feet featuring retractable claws, which act as snowshoes. Their ankles have a rotating capability of 180 degrees, which makes them very nimble in trees, even allowing them to run down trees head first. Their rear foot pads have a central scent gland, which may assist in marking territories, and in finding other fishers during mating season.
Studies of fisher stomach contents do not commonly find domestic cats, but porcupine, snowshoe hare, wild turkey and smaller rodents are more likely prey. Fishers also eat some greens, insects, nuts and berries and will scavenge dead animals.
Contrary to popular lore, fishers don’t flip porcupines to attack the belly. It’s way too dangerous a strategy. Rather the swift and shifty fisher attacks the porcupine’s face with a series of quick bites, sort of like Muhammed Ali jabbing an opponent relentlessly to discourage them and weaken their resolve.
One surprising find from a study in Maine led by Scott McKlellan, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, indicate that fishers will occasionally attack the much larger Canadian lynx, often in snowy weather, when the lynx may be taken by surprise, such as laying out a storm. Tracks in the snow, and the distance between canine punctures found post mortem on the lynx head, throat and neck tell the story. It appears that the fisher seizes the lynx and tenaciously holds on until the cat suffocates.
Surprisingly, the victims were not adult lynx weakened by starvation, as there were sufficient numbers of their favored prey, snowshoe hare, in lynx habitat at the time, and the lynx remains did not show anatomical signs of starvation. Fishers appear to have less luck with bobcats, and often end up as their prey.
Male fishers have little to do with females, except during mating season. Female fishers, like bear sows and about 100 other mammals, feature delayed implantation, which means that the blastocysts don’t implant in the uterine wall after mating, delaying pregnancy, and insuring the female will deliver one to four kits in spring, who will stay with her through summer. The female will again go into estrus in April or May, a couple of weeks after giving birth, thus starting the cycle anew.
Fishers have been trapped out and extirpated from many regions more than once, as the sale value of pelts rose and fell. Fishers are on a strong comeback in New England, maybe due in part to the increase in porcupines there, an important prey animal. The fisher and marten trapping season in the Adirondacks is in November. (I hope non-target animals have their calendars marked.)
Joe Kostoss photo provided by Adirondack Wildlife Refuge.
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I can personally attest to the fisher’s tactics with attacking porkies.Once while birding midday along RR tracks in Maine, my friend and I happened upon a poor porcupine standing in the middle of the tracks. He was breathing and moving slightly, but the entire front of his snout, eyes, and skull were missing. At first we suspected he had been hit by a train wheel, but saw no signs of this on the tracks. So our next guess was an interrupted attack by a fisher. We had no humane way to dispatch the animal, so left him where he was and hoped the fisher would return as soon as we left and finished the job. Nature is often not pretty.
Boreas, you never even saw a fisher? You say “so our next guess was an interrupted attack by a fisher”.
I can see why you’d feel bad though, as would I, having to leave the porcupine to suffer.
We were walking toward the tracks on an access road, so didn’t have a view of the scene until we got close. We suspect the fisher saw us and took off as we approached, but was waiting nearby. I don’t believe the porcupine could have lived too long that way, so we assumed we interrupted the attack. My friend had been a trapper and knew about fisher than I did. He had heard that is how they attack porkys. Made sense to me.
I have only seen 3 fisher in my life. I did get a night photo of one on a game camera I have behind my garage near a brook.
Last year my trail cam in Edinburg caught the briefest glimpse of a fisher, this year one hung around a bit longer for a better look at it. https://twitter.com/EdBurkeToga/status/1217555279631519745
This isn’t my video but shows their agility on a tree https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7smmd_AgAw4
I’m surprised the squirrel didn’t flee by spiraling up the tree and across a small branch to another tree. It would have been difficult for the much larger fisher to follow.
I’m guessing the squirrel’s indicts were sound, just surprised.
Interesting footage! I’ve never seen anything like that. Agility is an understatement!
The next footage was of a fisher with a hold on a woodchuck. The woodchuck was letting out wails. I could not watch that had to tune out….the softie that I am.
I will start with Owl’s, I doubt many can lift a full size cat. Fisher mostly catch a porcupine’s in trees, and then attack the face, causing them to fall from the tree, one porcupine, will sustain a fisher for 3 weeks. If you want to see a fisher attacking, check out you tube,(Siamese Pond Trail) one has a gray fox pinned when some hikers interrupt his meal. Amazing video. I had one walking up a game trail, last hunting season, toward me. When he see me, he jumped up onto the side of a tree and hissed, turned and ran off. I have seen several over the years, that was the first one with any aggression shown. I get them all the time on trail cameras
Great Horned Owls don’t have to lift the cat off the ground, even though they can fly carrying about twice their weight, something even an eagle can’t do. While small rodents are swallowed whole, larger prey are torn apart by the owl’s talons. https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2014/05/the-great-horned-owl-greatest-adirondack-predator.html
Don’t underestimate raptors. Great Horned Owls are a significant predator for skunks and rabbits, which are pretty similar in size and weight to a cat. They will also take smaller raccoons and ‘possums. Although an owl (and most raptors) may prefer to eat its kill in a tree, it will happily eat it on the ground after expending the energy to kill it. They can feed its chicks from its crop, and tear off chunks of prey to take to a tree or nest.
Sorry Stephen, my browser hasn’t been refreshing this website well lately. I didn’t see your post before repeating it.
Owls don’t have a crop: https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2014/05/the-great-horned-owl-greatest-adirondack-predator.html
It would be interesting to see a study on the ecological viability of re-introducing a few wolverines to the ADKs. Would probably be more likely to be successful than the failed lynx project.
I think wolverines need a lot of snow and a lot of cold for a lot longer time than we get in the Adirondacks.
They don’t really NEED snow and cold – that is just what they got stuck with as they got pushed out of their historical range, which was from ocean to ocean and as far south as PA and IL. Basically, they just need a big range. An historic range map can be found here:
https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/north-american-mammals/wolverine
If the wildlife corridor programs spread across the NE, a small population may be possible.
Not to argue but on your linked graphic did you read the notation under “Current Range”.
I am all for wildlife corridors and the wolverine has been my favorite animal since I was a wee lad.
I have been lucky to have come across Fishers in the wild several times both inside and outside the blue line.
I read it, but it doesn’t address why. Obviously, they lived much further south and had a much wider range than now. An opportunistic predator/scavenger can survive most anywhere there is food – assuming we don’t put a target on their back.
Boreas, that may not necessarily be true. It has been posited that wolverines need (or at least prefer) persistent snowpack lasting until spring to serve as adequate den sites (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3801996). It is likely that they were never abundant in the southern portions of their range since conditions were less than ideal. And climate change will only make things worse. Furthermore, wolverines are far more sensitive to human presence compared to other weasels (e.g. skunks, fishers) and as mentioned require very large ranges. Unfortunately, the Adirondacks and northeast will probably not serve as good habitat for reintroduction (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4747315/)
No, they were certainly not plentiful here in the last thousand years or so. But they are adaptable, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see if they come back on their own as contiguous forests regrow and snowpacks diminish. Yes, they prefer snowpack to den – but mostly to avoid extreme cold. Take away the cold, and they may change their habits and habitat as well. Climate and habitat pressures are what drives evolution and sub-speciation. I give mammals a fair amount of credit when it comes to habitat loss.
Wolverines like moose and other winterkill and Northern Ontario isn’t that far away. Virtually all animals learn early on to avoid humans, but the more adaptable species find we offer opportunity as well. Another large predator/scavenger would likely be beneficial in the Park. Just wishful thinking on my part.
Polar bears are being pushed around as well because of the lack of sea ice. We may well see them continuing to move into other new habitats as well if the tundra continues to warm and they need to adapt to change food sources. Or they go the way of the Mammoth.
Jesse,
More interesting reading, especially the quoted excerpt:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/28925
“MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
Given the fragmented nature of suitable habitat conditions
for the wolverine at the southern extent of its historical range
in North America (Figs. 3, 4, 7), and extensive urban and
agricultural development in intervening areas, the reestablishment of southern wolverine populations seems unlikely to occur without human intervention. Because southern
wolverine populations appear to have been extirpated by human-caused mortality factors that no longer pose a
significant threat, reintroduction may be an appropriate
management strategy. However, the potential effects of
increased human activities and disturbance on the reestablishment and persistence of wolverine populations should receive careful consideration during reintroduction planning.”
That project may have failed because they sourced their lynx from Yukon Territory. One DEC biologist thought the project would have had better success had they trapped them in the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec where the environment is similar to the Adirondacks.
Ed, I didn’t realize that those Lynx were from the Yukon, and I agree about Gaspe. Gorgeous placed to visit, hike and camp. Steve
Several times I have seen a fisher crossing our road at night, always at the same spot, and neighbours down the hill see his tracks in the snow. My parents told me that in the ’30s Charley Beede had a pet fisher (not exactly a cuddly pet, one would think) and I’ve wondered whether this one may be a descendant. Walking down Phelps Brook one afternoon several years ago, I saw a fisher kit running down the opposite bank. A friend was chased up the Giant trail by an angry fisher and said it was a scary experience.
in the opening paragraph – I believe the author has confused the words “viscous” and “vicious”. Might want to check on this.
Good catch! Thank you.
You should not be writing until you post accurate history. The earth is 6 to 10 thousand years old certainly not millions. People like you should not even be allowed to continually deceive an already messed up society.
I’m thinking you shouldn’t breed.
The Flat Earth Society?
Heck, I have underwear older than that!
People like me? Tim, is this satire? The earth is actually around 4.5 billion years old, and there are a number of means of dating the earth, all of which pretty much agree, give or take 50 million years. One exception is the Bible, with the Old Testament written down about 3500 years ago by folks who didn’t know why it rained, never mind how the universe worked, but a later “scholar” decided that by adding the generations since Adam, he could figure out how old the earth was. Let’s hope you’re not a school teacher.
Fischers seem to be fond of chickens, too! I also recently saw one run across my rd with a large crow in its mouth!
” I also recently saw one run across my rd with a large crow in its mouth!”
What is rd?
“The earth is 6 to 10 thousand years old certainly not millions.”
I’ve been doing genealogical research and I can attest this is an untrue statement. I discovered a great great grand great, grander great, greater grand to the 200th great ancestor who used to sell firewood to aborigines in caves in a remote stretch of the land that is now Alsace Lorraine.
Very much enjoyed the article on the Fisher! I am from Rome, NY lived in NH last 25 years. We descend on Eagle Bay Village with friends for a week each July! Noted your reference to increase of Fishers in NE – we can attest to that. I would like to know more about that blood curdling (scream) or cry usually late at night! Last time I shined a flashlight ? toward the sound and got 4 bright beady eyes looking back from at least 30+ feet up a stand of tree about 50 yards off our Lake shore !! Thanks for the info !!
Hello – many that I’ve spoken with in the Adirondack Region have seen grey & eastern wolves in the region.
Are they Eastern Coyotes or are they Eastern Wolves?
Or are they both?
The problem is with the use of phrases, which are not generally accurate. Most of the “coyotes” I see in the Adirondacks, are coywolves, about 30% Algonquin wolf (itself a gray wolf-coyote hybrid), probably 60% coyote and sometimes a little dog. To further confuse matters, local folks call them “coydogs”, probably nbot as accurate as “coywolf”. More information at http://www.adirondackwildlife.org/Coywolf.html
Great article! Fishers are so apologetically themselves and I admire them. How fascinating that in more 125,000 years they really have not changed a whole lot. I got to see one today in Newcomb, NY.
What sound does a fisher cat make?
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yset_ff_syc_hp-s&ei=UTF-8&p=fisher+cat+vocalization&type=yset_hpffbanner#id=4&vid=bf6e5c5ecce3a2b7394f8b9e1837a6ef&action=view
Woke up this morning to a rank garlic and almost chemical smell I think it’s a fisher marking .Does anyone know what kind of smell they have ?it’s as strong as a skunk just not a skunk smell.
Probably a red fox. https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2020/05/red-fox-natures-rodent-control.html
We have recently seen a fisher in our yard. We had no clue what he was. But we were very impressed at how fast he ran after seeing us. We have vegetables growing inside of our pool fence, and thought maybe he was interested in that as this year the raccoons have started climbing over the fence to get to. We have seen him 2 more times since the first. We also have lots of Red foxes with new babies every year, and we hear lots of coyotes as fire alarms and police sirens go off. I was happy to learn more about him.
Hi Steve. Thank you for your excellent article about fishers. My wife and I live in Bath County, Virginia, and sleep on one of our porches. We were recently awakened at 3AM by a commotion a few feet from our bed. A fisher had come onto the porch and was being attacked by our two German Shepherds. Fortunately there was no contact and the fisher and dogs escaped unhurt. The fisher was about 25-30 inches. We have lived here for twenty years and knew nothing of fishers, so this was both interesting and surprising. From your article, it seems the fisher was at the southern end of its territory. And yes, we continue to sleep outside on our porch with the wild life.
You can add chickens to the list of fisher cat victims. We live in the Hudson Valley and I had never seen a fisher cat before this summer. It has wiped out our just recovering rabbit population, chipmunks, squirrels and last night my neighbor’s five chickens, from which they generously donated all their eggs to a local food bank. We see the fisher mostly in the day, unafraid of human movement around our yard. My only animal friend left is my cat, (I’m not really fond of our remaining woodchuck) and thankfully she seems suspicious about going outside for walks in her usual patterns. Besides leaving bright lights on at night, what can we do to encourage the fisher to relocate. It’s been visible here for about ten weeks or so. We hope it doesn’t set up a den in our wood pile. Are there any accounts of them attacking dogs or people. I am extremely anxious about this newcomer and really wish it would move on. Should we try a have-a-heart trap? or hire a pest control service? Thanks for any advice and for posting this article.
I believe fishers will kill a dog. I had a 50lb Border Collie that was killed by a wild animal. The vet that examined the body believed that it was a fisher and about a month later I saw a fisher near the attack site.
I recently witnessed interesting fisher behavior in my back yard. I have a brook that is just into the woods at the edge of my lawn. One day while sitting on my porch, I saw a fisher loping slowly along the stream through the woods. It came out toward my yard and my truck, then turned abruptly back to a red pine it had recently passed. This pine has a damaged top and has a clump of cones and twisted limbs at the top courtesy the ice storm. The fisher dashed up the tree in about two seconds – likely thinking it was ambushing a porky or coon or something. When it encountered nothing, it started jumping into the crowns in nearby trees. Eventually it was satisfied nothing was there, and came back down the red pine. It continued loping along its way. I had never seen one act like a pine marten. Wish I had a video.