There’s something really cool about fishers, the large weasel-like predator that lives in northern woodlands. (Not “fisher cat” despite the baseball team’s name – they aren’t cats.) (Although they don’t eat fish, either; what a misnamed beast.)
I think I’ve seen one in the wild, although it moved so fast I wasn’t certain, but some have been photographed by automated “critter cams” in woods near my house, so they’re close.
Something Wild, NH Public Radio’s weekly show on the state’s outdoors, has an interesting discussion today about the apparent decline in the number of fishers, judging from the effectiveness of trappers. Nobody knows why they’re going down, since many small carnivores are doing well. Maybe the rebounding population of bobcats is eating them, maybe it’s just a natural cycle; maybe they’ve just learned to avoid traps.
Biology is so darn complicated.
It’s a good piece, you can read or listen here.