Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Much Sorry with Delays
Birth, Death and All That Stuff in Between
How to Honor Labor Day, Every Day
My Yom Kippur Miracle (Repost from 2010)
Good intro to fly casting
Peach update, with pie
NYC update
Easy for you to say: To the elites on mass immigration
For NYC on 9/11, Sailors' Snug Harbor
Pickled Peaches
Water Shoes
Labor Costs in U.S.
Your "identity"
Good news about The Great Courses
Uses of Hot Pepper Jelly/Sauce, Chutneys, and Jams
A Saturday Drive to Litchfield County, CT
How to Pick a Kayak
Civilized: Fruit forks and knives
Loads of kayaking on Cape Cod
Psychology Experiments' Questionable Results

Categories


All categories

Quicksearch

Links

Blog Administration

Open login screen

RSS Readers

Add to Google

Subscribe with Bloglines

Monday, September 18. 2023

Ever seen a Fisher?

Not uncommon in the US, but not often seen. A pal had a couple roaming his back yard the other day in Maine. They are good tree-climbers. They are in the Mustelid clan - weasels to Wolverines.


Fishers are similar to the European Polecat. They do not fish - their name is from the Dutch fisse.


All about Fishers. 

Posted by Bird Dog in Natural History and Conservation at 13:15 | Comments (10) | Trackbacks (0)

Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry

No Trackbacks

Comments
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

I saw a YouTube video of a guy recording one hollering in the woods at night near his house. I commented about how it sounded like a quarterback with a sore throat. Got quite a few likes and LOLs.
#1 Maniac on 2023-09-18 17:16 (Reply)
Yep, they squall and holler especially in the spring, here in Amish Appalachia. I see them, but not frequently, mostly in the deeper woods.
#2 Dan D on 2023-09-18 17:36 (Reply)
MY BIL studied them for his undergrad degree in wildlife biology. They like to eat cats!
#3 ruralcounsel on 2023-09-18 19:07 (Reply)
In Minnesota their range is expanding southward while the northern Minnesota population may be declining. I have seen them only a few times. Once while in a deer stand one came out of a tamarack swamp and walked up a tipped over popple tree to about 15 yards from me. When I made the smallest movement he disappeared. Magic moment....
#4 Snowgoose on 2023-09-18 21:57 (Reply)
I don't believe I have ever heard of a fisher until now.
#5 feeblemind on 2023-09-18 23:26 (Reply)
Same Genus as the mink and the marten, and a cousin to the sable.
#5.1 Aggie on 2023-09-18 23:38 (Reply)
Fishers are renowned for their unique ability to prey on porcupines. They get a paw on their underbelly and flip them on their back, avoiding the quills as they attack their underside for the kill.
#5.2 Dan D on 2023-09-19 08:19 (Reply)
Plenty of them around here (the Ottawa Valley). But you're right, they do tend to stay out of sight.
#6 JJM on 2023-09-19 13:12 (Reply)
Was blessed to see one along the harbor in Ketchikan. Had to absolutely quiet with zero movement on my part.
#7 Capt. John on 2023-09-19 20:41 (Reply)
I saw a Fisher-cat many times in Rockport, MA, a veritable socialist enclave if ever there were.

Fishers socialists are not to be trifled with though Fishers have many abilities and incredible rapacity.

Thank goodness, they avoid people and very agile climbers. Be sure, you do not want to engage with one and neither does your dog or cat, here kitty-kitty!

At a guess, they're heavier than a raccoon, probably 25 lbs or more when they mature, maybe even 30 lbs.

Those teeth are to be avoided... but everyone has to eat. So it goes.
#8 Tallywhagger on 2023-09-19 21:54 (Reply)

Add Comment
(Your e-mail will not show in your comment)

By commenting on this site you agree to the site rules listed here. Email
addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for email notifications.

Quick reference guide: [i] italics [/i], [b] bold [/b], [u] underline [/u],
[url] (web address) [/url]. More tips here.

Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (*word*), underscore are made via _word_.
E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.

To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.
CAPTCHA

BBCode format allowed
 
 
A Chris Southern Consulting website.