Fisher

Physical Features

The Fisher, a member of the weasel family. It has a long body with dark or light brown fur. It has long claws on its paws with black legs and a long, thick, black tail. It has a short muzzle and round ears on the sides of its head. The Fisher's fur is denser and glossier in winter. During summer the colors become more mottled as the fur goes through a molting cycle. Males and females are alike in appearance but the males are larger in size. Males are between 90-120 cm (35–47 in) in length and weigh between 3.5-5kg (8–11lb) whereas the smaller females measure 75-95cm (30–37 in) and weigh between 2-2.5kg (4–6 lb).

Habitat

The Fisher prefers habitats with lots of tree cover and abundant hollow trees, which it uses as dens. It lives in thick coniferous or mixed conifer and hardwood forests. The Fisher makes its den in crevices, under bushes, in logs and in trees. In the winter, it sometimes uses a den in the snow. The Fisher is native to North America and can be found in Central and Southern Canada, Northern California, the Rocky Mountains, New York, and New England. Fishers were reintroduced in several states including Pennsylvania, Connecticut and West Virginia after being wiped out by trapping and habitat destruction.

Diet

The Fisher is mainly carnivorous and usually hunts animals that are its size or smaller. Its common prey includes chipmunks, shrews, snowshoe hares and porcupines. Fishers are among the few predators that seek out and kill porcupines. When it preys on a porcupine, it attacks the porcupine's face repeatedly until the porcupine is weakened from trying to defend itself. It will eat the porcupine's organs first and save the rest of the kill to eat over the next couple of days. Fishers don't always win battles with porcupines, and may sometimes get badly injured or killed by the porcupine's quills. The Fisher also eats fruits, berries, plants, and carrion. The Fisher, despite its name, rarely eats fish.

Meat

Fishers have been trapped since the 19th century due to the value of their fur. Their fur has been used for scarves and neckpieces. The best pelts are from winter trapping with secondary quality pelts from spring trapping. The lowest quality fur comes from out of season trapping when fishers are molting. They are easily trapped and the value of their fur is a particular incentive for catching this species.

Behavior

The Fisher is usually nocturnal. A Fisher's home range is usually about ten square miles and may overlap with the home ranges of a number of other Fishers. It uses scent to mark its territory. A Fisher moves around its home range frequently, following well-used trails. It travels both on the ground and from tree to tree. The Fisher is a very good swimmer and excellent climber. Fishers mate in March and April. The female has a gestation period of ten to eleven months and she gives birth to between one to six babies in a nest located in a hollow tree. The kits are born blind and helpless at birth and covered scantily with fine hair. If the nest is disturbed, the female moves her babies. Kits start crawling after about 3 weeks, but only open their eyes after 7 weeks. They start to climb after 8 weeks and are completely dependent on their mother's milk for the first 8–10 weeks of their life after which they begin to switch to a solid diet. After 4 months kits become intolerant of their siblings and by the time they reach 5 months of age the mother expels them and they become independent. The juveniles however only establish their own range after a year. Fisher's have a lifespan of 7 or 8 years in the wild.

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