Guardian Nature School Team Contact Blog Project Noah Facebook Project Noah Twitter

A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife

Join Project Noah!
nature school apple icon

Project Noah Nature School visit nature school

Fisher

Martes pennanti

Description:

The fisher (Martes pennanti) is a medium-sized mammal native to North America. It is a member of the mustelid family, commonly referred to as the weasel family. The fisher is closely related to but larger than the American Marten (Martes americana). The fisher is a forest-dwelling creature whose range covers much of the boreal forest in Canada to the northern fringes of the United States. Names derived from aboriginal languages include pekan, pequam, and wejack. It is also sometimes referred to as a fisher cat, though it is not a feline. Males and females are similar in appearance but the males are larger. Males are 90–120 cm (35–47 in) in length and weigh 3.5 to 6 kilograms (8–13 lb). Females measure 75–95 cm (30–37 in) and weigh 2–2.5 kg (4–6 lb). The fur of the fisher varies seasonally, being denser and glossier in the winter. During the summer, the color becomes more mottled, as the fur goes through a moulting cycle. Fishers prefer to hunt in full forest. While they are agile climbers, most of their time is spent on the forest floor. They also prefer to forage where there is fallen dead wood on the forest floor. Fishers are omnivorous and feed on a wide variety of small animals and occasionally fruits and mushrooms. They show a preference for the snowshoe hare and are one of the few predators able to hunt porcupine. Despite their name, fishers seldom eat fish. The reproductive cycle of the fisher lasts almost the entire year. Female fishers give birth to a litter of three or four kits in the spring. They nurse and care for their kits up until late summer, when they are old enough to set out on their own. Females enter estrus shortly after giving birth and leave the den to find a mate. Implantation of the blastocyst is delayed until the following spring when they give birth and the cycle is renewed. Fishers have few predators aside from man. They have been trapped since the 18th century for their fur. Their pelts were in such demand that they were extirpated from several parts of the United States in the early part of the 20th century. Conservation and protection measures have allowed the species to rebound, but their current range is still reduced from its historic limits. In the 1920s, when pelt prices were high, some fur farmers attempted to raise fishers. However, their unusual delayed reproduction made breeding difficult. When pelt prices fell in the late 1940s, most fisher farming ended. While fishers usually avoid human contact, encroachments into forest habitats have resulted in some conflicts. There are anecdotal reports of fishers attacking pets and, in a 2009 case in Rhode Island, a 6-year-old boy.[Wikipedia]

Notes:

A family of fishers was living in my neighborhood one winter and spring. This picture was taken through my kitchen window.

Species ID Suggestions



Sign in to suggest organism ID

23 Comments

Tom15
Tom15 10 years ago

Thanks Mona and Jeff for the info. Fishers are an important part of the ecosystem, and often get a bad rap. They have been hunted for both fur and sport, and I would be thrilled to see them protected.

Jeff Dreier
Jeff Dreier 10 years ago

The fisher is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. In the state of Washington, fishers have been re-introduced to the Olympic Peninsula, and I believe they will be (or have been) re-introduced to the Mt. Rainier area.

Mona Pirih
Mona Pirih 10 years ago

Awesome gorgeous !!

Tom15
Tom15 10 years ago

Thanks Patty, fishers are interesting animals.

patty
patty 10 years ago

Very cute animal Tom, I didn´t know its existance =)

Tom15
Tom15 11 years ago

Thanks Ashish. The number of predatory animals have really gone down in the wild because of unreasonable fear of them and others just wanting trophies.

Ashish Nimkar
Ashish Nimkar 11 years ago

This is precious spotting...
World wide many Mammals are prey to Human greed and selfish lifestyle and getting extincted one by one... So Mammal species in Wild are rapidly decreasing. The count of Mammal spottings also indicating same alarming situation...

Tom15
Tom15 11 years ago

Ken, this one was one of the special animals I've photographed along with birds like the Harpy Eagle and sea turtles.

KenCheeks
KenCheeks 11 years ago

Just a beautiful animal. I'd love to see one. I suspect that this was one of your lifetime highlights as a photographer.

Tom15
Tom15 11 years ago

Thanks Jakubko, they haven't been around the last few years and I hope to get them again.

Jacob Gorneau
Jacob Gorneau 11 years ago

Gorgeous Fisher! I've always wanted to see one!

Tom15
Tom15 11 years ago

Thanks Maria, Karen and Punkus!

PunkusArnett
PunkusArnett 11 years ago

What an amazing sighting! How lucky you are that they visited you

KarenL
KarenL 11 years ago

Great spot!

Maria dB
Maria dB 11 years ago

Very nice; you might consider adding the information on their hunting to the spotting description

Tom15
Tom15 11 years ago

As far as I know Fishers are the only animal in North America that actively hunts porcupines. They do it by biting the porcupine in the face and getting it on its back, then feeding from the belly where there's no quills.

RiekoS
RiekoS 11 years ago

So cute. I don't know much about this mammal either....

LeanneGardner
LeanneGardner 11 years ago

What a cool animal!

Tom15
Tom15 11 years ago

Thanks, I really enjoyed watching these fisher coming into the yard. I have a tree stand set up at the edge of a wetland behind the house, and when my wife was sitting up in it, a family of 5 fishers walked directly below her and never knew she was there.

Fyn  Kynd
Fyn Kynd 11 years ago

LUCKY!!!

Carol Snow Milne 2
Carol Snow Milne 2 11 years ago

I am glad you posted this photo because I don't know much about this mammal.

ausatravel
ausatravel 11 years ago

Nice. Always wanted to see one.

Scott Frazier
Scott Frazier 11 years ago

Nice visit!

Tom15
Spotted by
Tom15

Groton, Massachusetts, USA

Spotted on Mar 7, 2009
Submitted on Feb 27, 2013

Related Spottings

hermelin American marten European Pine Marten American Marten

Nearby Spottings

Spotted Turtle Eastern Newt Gray Treefrog Mite
Noah Guardians
Noah Sponsors
join Project Noah Team

Join the Project Noah Team