Fisher

Pekania pennak

Written by Kathy Richards

The fisher is the 2nd largest member of the weasel family. They are active year round.

HABITAT:

They live mostly in dense mixed forests with a dense canopy. They mostly avoid open areas. The den is in a large tree in a cavity way up high. This is where the kits are born. They are moved to an underground den when they become mobile.

Fisher cat tree Douglas H. Domedion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

BEHAVIOR:

The fisher is active day or night but is very secretive so rarely seen. In the summer they tend to be crepuscular (active dawn and dusk) and nocturnal in the summer. In the winter they tend to be diurnal. It rests under the cover of brush piles, tree cavities, stone walls and hollow logs.

FOOD:

Fishers are omnivores. They are known for their ability to capture and eat porcupine. They will also eat rabbits, small rodents, squirrels, birds, eggs, fruit and carrion. They are also opportunistic and have been known to eat cats and small dogs as well as chickens. They hunt  primarily on the ground but are excellent climbers. 

PREDATORS:

Bobcat, lynx and blackbear

Check out other animals in the exhibits nearby

Gray Fox

Fisher

Red Squirrel