Since it has been widely documented that Fishers are ferocious killers that will attack, kill and eat small dogs and cats I thought it was important to make you all more aware of the animals. I got the information below from the NYS DEC site and from Wikipedia. I urge all residents of Woodland Valley not to let their pets out of the house unsupervised since I have personally seen them here and their numbers are reportedly growing throughout the state.
- Carol Seitz
The fisher, also known as the "pekan cat," "fisher cat," or "black cat," is a large, dark, long-haired member of the weasel family. They have short legs, small ears, and a long well-furred tail. Their color varies from dark brown to nearly black. Fisher fur is long and luxuriant. Females are more valuable than males because of their more uniform color. The males often have a "grizzled" appearance due to the many tri-colored hairs along their neck and shoulders. Fitchet is a name derived from the Dutch word visse which means 'nasty'.
Adult males weigh from 7 to 12 pounds and may be 40 inches long, including their 13 to 15 inch tail. Adult females are smaller, weighing from 4 to 5.5 pounds. Extremely large male fisher may approach 20 pounds, but that is very unusual.
Fisher have large feet with five sharp toes. This makes them well adapted for walking on snow, climbing trees, and killing their prey.
Like their cousins, the skunks, both sexes have large scent glands near their anus, possibly used for marking territories.
They avoid open spaces. Fishers are solitary, only associating with other fishers for mating purposes.
Fishers are generalist predators. They will feed on any animal they can catch and will eat carrion. They are also known to supplement their meat diet with insects, nuts, berries, and mushrooms. Their primary prey includes snowshoe hare and porcupine. Since they are solitary hunters their choice of prey is limited to their size. Analysis of stomach contents and scat have found evidence of birds, small mammals and even moose and deer. The latter food sources shows that they are not averse to eating carrion. Fishers have been observed to feed on the carcasses of deer left by hunters.
Fishers are one of the few predators that seek out and kill porcupines. There are some stories in popular literature that fishers can flip a porcupine onto its back and "scoop out its belly like a ripe melon." As early as 1966, this was identified as an exaggerated myth. However, observational studies show that fisher will make repeated biting attacks on the face of a porcupine and kill it after about 25-30 minutes.
In some areas fishers can become pests to farmers because they will get into a pen and kill large numbers of chickens. Fishers have also been known to eat feral cats and dogs and small pets left outdoors. However, a study done in 1979 examined the stomach contents of all fishers trapped in the state of New Hampshire; cat hairs were found in only one of over 1,000 stomachs. Attacks on domestic cats may be documented, but zoologists suggest a bobcat, coyote, or dog is more likely to prey upon domestic cats and chickens.
Distribution and Habitat:
During the past two centuries fisher populations have been extirpated across parts of North America due to what was once a high demand for their furs. Furriers were paying up to $345 per animal in 1922. Their soft brown pelts can still fetch sometimes high prices. Fishers are shy, secretive, and difficult to breed in zoos.
Fisher live in a band of forested habitat extending across North America. They do not occur on any other continent. In the east, they are found from Virginia north to Quebec and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. It is thought that they were once more widespread. Reintroduction programs have been successful in reestablishing them in some of their former range.
In recent years, they have spread from Vermont into southern New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and have recently been artificially reintroduced into dozens of areas across the United States, including in Montana, Oregon, and Washington. As of 2009, reports indicate the fisher population has returned to areas from which they were previously extirpated, such as Connecticut, the Hudson Valley in New York, and New Jersey.
In New York State, they are found in over 26,000 square miles of habitat in the northern, eastern, and southeastern parts of the state. It is believed that fisher also were native to central and western New York but they are only occasionally seen in that area of the state.
Behavior:
Fisher are sexually mature in about one year. However, because the implantation of their embryo is delayed after fertilization, a process called "delayed implantation," they don't have their first litter until they are two years old. They breed immediately after having their litter. Births and breeding peak in March. They have an average of 3 young per litter.
Fisher usually use two types of shelters. Fisher dens used for giving birth to their young typically are found in large trees, high off the ground. They make use of natural cavities frequently found in older trees. They also use cavities in rocky areas. Dens for general cover and protection consist of hollow logs, turned over stumps, brush piles, or ground burrows.
There does not appear to be a single habitat type that can be called "typical fisher habitat." They are found in hardwood, softwood, and mixed stands throughout their range. They do not like large open areas, such as clear-cuts. However, they do hunt for small rodents in fields and meadows.
