Author Topic: fishers (Read 2283 times)

armycar01 · « **on:** October 28, 2003, 04:42:24 AM »

I have never seen or heard a fisher before. Maybe I am just dull, but could someone describe one to me?

I live about fourty miles southwest of Martinsville, VA, and I was wondering if any would be around my area. I live in a very wooded area.

Thanks for any help!

1911crazy · « **Reply #1 on:** October 29, 2003, 06:46:22 AM »

Go to; http://www.nationaltrappers.com/fisher.html

This is a member of the weasle family and is the fastest northamerican tree climbing mammal. BigBill

armycar01 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 30, 2003, 04:48:38 AM »

thanks again!

John · « **Reply #3 on:** October 30, 2003, 09:05:51 AM »

You sure about the fisher being a weasel, My info says it's actually a large marten.

Fisher: Family-Martes, Genus-pennanti, Specie-pennanti
Marten: Family-Martes, Genus-americana, Specie-americana

The weasel belongs to the Family Mustela, and there are several different varieties of them.

I could be wrong, but it doesn't happen often...hahaha :grin: :grin:

1911crazy · « **Reply #4 on:** October 30, 2003, 09:53:05 AM »

I think your wrong ha ha!! go to; http://www.environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/fishwild/fisher.shtml

Its a member of the weasle family. The marten is also a member of the weasle family too. BigBill

John · « **Reply #5 on:** October 30, 2003, 01:30:41 PM »

I'm stickin by my guns on the deal. Those folks made a mistake, check the scientific name of the fisher and the marten, and then check out the scientific name of the weasel.

1911crazy · « **Reply #6 on:** October 30, 2003, 02:13:58 PM »

Heres another so called mistake;
http://www.uvm.edu/~lehiggin/teaching/bio2A/sensorysys.html

http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesRECNUM.acp?recNum=MA0033
Click on mammals, then click on Weasles, skunks and their kin

Schroll to the bottom and read and weep. Their all related weasles,
martens, minks, fishers & skunks BigBill

John · « **Reply #7 on:** October 30, 2003, 02:36:19 PM »

OK, I got to checking on some taxonomy, and I'll even tell you just what family those critters both belong to....Mustelidae.

You win hahaha.

That's about the second mistake I made this year. hahaha

1911crazy · « **Reply #8 on:** October 30, 2003, 02:48:19 PM »

Quote from: John

OK, I got to checking on some taxonomy, and I'll even tell you just what family those critters both belong to....Mustelidae.

You win hahaha.

That's about the second mistake I made this year. hahaha

I didn't win anything we just both found out their all related I didn't know that either so we both learned something!!!!! We both won!!!! BigBill

John · « **Reply #9 on:** October 30, 2003, 03:03:56 PM »

You're too nice.

I did do some digging though, it's always good to think now and then.

My origional "Book" had the genus for the marten and the fisher down as the family name, and the weasel had the correct information.

Fisher: Family-mustelidae, Genus- martes, specie-pennanti.
Marten: Family-mustelidae, Genus-martes, specie-americana.
Weasel: Family-mustelidae, Genus and specie vary cause there's a bunch of em.

Anyway, they are all in the same family, just like you said.

1911crazy · « **Reply #10 on:** October 30, 2003, 03:48:35 PM »

Quote from: John

You're too nice.

I did do some digging though, it's always good to think now and then.

My origional "Book" had the genus for the marten and the fisher down as the family name, and the weasel had the correct information.

Fisher: Family-mustelidae, Genus- martes, specie-pennanti.
Marten: Family-mustelidae, Genus-martes, specie-americana.
Weasel: Family-mustelidae, Genus and specie vary cause there's a bunch of em.

Anyway, they are all in the same family, just like you said.

Have you ever seen a fisher?? Its a killing machine and mean like a wolverine. They let out a screech type shrill that you won't believe. The hair on your neck will stand up mine did. I hope i never hear one again. It will rattle anyones cage.
BigBill

.45 COLT · « **Reply #11 on:** October 31, 2003, 02:03:44 AM »

While you're talking about the Fisher, did you know that it is about the only animal that routinely hunts, kills and eats porcupines? :?

1911crazy · « **Reply #12 on:** October 31, 2003, 03:24:59 AM »

Quote from: .45 COLT

While you're talking about the Fisher, did you know that it is about the only animal that routinely hunts, kills and eats porcupines? :?

YES it attacks and hurts the head and face so bad the porcupine dies then it eats the guts first, and it actually eats it from the inside out!!! BigBill

I read somewhere that fishers are seen in CT. and a women walked up on one eating the slaughtered cows guts and she thought it was cute?? Dam flatlanders don't have a clue how fast they are!! BigBill

williamlayton · « **Reply #13 on:** October 31, 2003, 05:17:08 AM »

i was thinkin that most carnavoors( cause i can't spell it without lookin it up and i aint gonna look it up) ate from the inside out-least the only ones i have observed.
blessings

John · « **Reply #14 on:** October 31, 2003, 07:09:54 AM »

Have you ever seen a fisher?? Its a killing machine and mean like a wolverine. They let out a screech type shrill that you won't believe. The hair on your neck will stand up mine did. I hope i never hear one again. It will rattle anyones cage.

Nope, never seen one, they don't get this far south. I'd like to hear one though, just for the experience, sounds interesting.

1911crazy · « **Reply #15 on:** October 31, 2003, 11:31:25 AM »

Quote from: John

Have you ever seen a fisher?? Its a killing machine and mean like a wolverine. They let out a screech type shrill that you won't believe. The hair on your neck will stand up mine did. I hope i never hear one again. It will rattle anyones cage.

Nope, never seen one, they don't get this far south. I'd like to hear one though, just for the experience, sounds interesting.

Near my camp in Vermont some campers heard it in the daytime its so bad they reported on a bigfoot site and they have no clue what it was. Trust me its an erie sound and something you'll never forget. BigBill

And in the dark its worse of course if your never heard it before.

Shorty · « **Reply #16 on:** November 09, 2003, 10:11:07 AM »

I was sitting on a stone wall, overlooking a swamp that had a deer trail through it. Some movement right beside me caught my attention. It was a fisher (there, in Maine, they're called fisher cats). I turned my head and looked at him, not more than eight feet away. He turned his head and looked at me. I cocked my rifle and he took off, crashing through that swamp like a scared pig. Later, a hunter who was on the other side, asked me if I'd seen that fisher. I said that I quess to hell, he was sitting right beside me! :shock:

Jagdzeit · « **Reply #17 on:** November 25, 2003, 03:04:02 AM »

We have Fishers, AKA fisher cats, here in the Catskills of NY. I saw one cross the road right in front of my truck, about 300 yds from my house this past summer.
The town my wife is from, Pinehill, has had one, or a few that were coming into town and killing peoples cats. My mother in law has lost a few cats to them. The most recent one about 3 months ago. Also one night one of my wifes best friends had what was an old mangled ferrel tom cat she tamed attacked and dragged away by a fisher. There was blood, urine and feces everywhere. Everyone felt sorry for "the reverend". He lived under the old abandoned church next door, hence his name. Wouldn't you know it. That tough old cat showed up a few days later all chewed up, but alive. I'm guessing that he was rendered unconsious by the attack and dragged off to be eaten at a later time. Then came to and eventually made his way back.
People are being very cautious about leaving their cats outside for any length of time at night.

A number of years ago I caught a long tailed weasel, AKA Ermin by hand, wearing a welders gauntleted glove. He had his head in a plastic bag full of deer scraps. First surprise was that he sprayed like a skunk. Yep, skunk family. The second was the ferrocity of the little beast. I have to tell you that this little animal, pound for pound, HAS TO BE one of the strongest animals I've ever encountered. It felt like a solid muscles squirming in my hand. If I would have let him go, he would have run up my arm and probably ate my head off. He was seriously pissed off. I ended up smacking his head against the concrete in front of my shop. Knocking him out but unknown to me, not killing him. I put him on top of a 55 gal. oil drum and went about my business. A friend that was there asked where I put him, because he didn't see him anymore. He had bailed off the drum into the leaves below. I found him by kicking the leaves around. He ran out across the concrete slab, where I stomped him. Standing on him with my 200 Lbs didn't even kill him. He squeeked and squealed. my frend stepped on his head finishing him off. Now imagine this. Someone parking a truck on your chest and you still being able to breath and yell ! Talk about tough. Now imagine doing battle with something that is the size of the fisher. WOW !!!!!

Just so you know, he is now mounted on a piece of driftwood with a 23 pound female bobcat and a squirrel. The cat is standing over its squirrel kill, snarling, showing it's teeth and swatting at him as he calmly sits there contemplating stealing it. I designed the scene myself and had a local taxidermist do it for me. BTW, I shot the cat with my Ruger Redhawk pistol at about 70 yds. When I killed it, it had a rabbit in it's mouth. That's where the squirrel idea came from.

Stay Safe,
Franz

John · « **Reply #18 on:** November 25, 2003, 04:27:46 PM »

Well if those fishers kill those damn feral cats then I'm all for em. Box a pair of them fishers up and sent em to NE Oklahoma, they'll have all the cats they could ever want around here.

williamlayton · « **Reply #19 on:** November 25, 2003, 09:27:48 PM »

as long as it's tha cat WE want to be rid of--it's a dang delima aint it.
blessings

Jagdzeit · « **Reply #20 on:** November 26, 2003, 01:34:07 AM »

Quote from: John

Well if those fishers kill those damn feral cats then I'm all for em. Box a pair of them fishers up and sent em to NE Oklahoma, they'll have all the cats they could ever want around here.

John,
Believe me, I'm NOT a cat person. I couldn't really care less if there were no more cats on this planet. But when I have to see the MIL out walking around all depressed calling for her "pet" cat. It makes me feel really bad.
We do have a serious problem around here too with feral cats. They kill everything. Now this might sound like BS to you. But a few years ago, I came home from riding my motorcycle and as I pulled into my driveway, I noticed a feral cat on the dam of my pond. I parked the bike and ran into the house as fast as I could to get to one of my rifles to kill it. I grabbed my .22 Hornet, opend the front door and just as I did that, it jumped into the blackberry bushes along the edge. All of a syudden a doe and her fawn, that may have been a few weeks old, walked up the dam along a trail between the bushes. The doe was feeding and all of a sudden the damn cat jumped out of the bushes and clung to the fawn. It freaked out and ended up in the pond with the cat attached. The doe freaked and went after the cat to save it's fawn. The cat let go and went back into the bushes. Then the doe and fawn left. The cat wandered out a few minutes later to look for them and it died of lead poisoning.
Now, the thing is that that cat may not have the ability to make wounds deep enough to kill a fawn. But it sure could hold on to it till it was exhausted enough to kill it, or die of shock. I couldn't believe it.
So if you think like I did, that only large predators can kill a deer. Think again. So kill every damn feral cat you see out there as well as all the other predators.

Stay Safe,
Franz

bullet maker · « **Reply #21 on:** November 26, 2003, 03:45:46 AM »

Amen Jagdzeit

I agree, that all feral cats, be killed on sight. My quail population, has declined to nothing in the last 4 years. My neighbor down the mile, had 33 cats and continue counting. He moved away and left all the cats. :twisted: I`m still trapping and killing cats today because of these bleeding heart cat lovers.
I know the quail is at the bottom of the food chain, but I`ve seen a lot of quail feathers, on the whiskers of the local cat population around here.
bullet maker

John · « **Reply #22 on:** November 26, 2003, 03:58:13 AM »

Quote from: williamlayton

as long as it's tha cat WE want to be rid of--it's a dang delima aint it.
blessings

William, that's not a problem..........kill em all. They aren't even supposed to be here.

williamlayton · « **Reply #23 on:** November 26, 2003, 08:40:37 AM »

cats not susposed to be here? hummmm. well i can't says i agree with that.
blessings

John · « **Reply #24 on:** November 26, 2003, 01:22:34 PM »

What I'm saying is those little so called house cats, the ones folks make pets out of aren't native to North America, they were brought in and have raised hell with small game ever since.

They are right in there with some of the other pests that were introduced from other countries over the years.....carp, English sparrows, starlings, you know what I mean.

williamlayton · « **Reply #25 on:** November 26, 2003, 04:15:12 PM »

gotcha.
blessings

1911crazy · « **Reply #26 on:** November 26, 2003, 04:36:14 PM »

I love cats(house cats) I have over 25 to 50 cords of firewood in the yard and an old farm across the street with rats. They moved into my woodpiles. At first I hid decon but the birds still got to it so I killed a few birds besides solving the rat problem. My next solution is get "cats"

It worked I have 3 full grown cats and the two kittens I just found dumped in the woods. I was never fond of cats until they solved my rat problem. Now I understand why farms have so many cats? BigBill

williamlayton · « **Reply #27 on:** November 27, 2003, 12:18:05 AM »

john-
got to thinkin bout my post an well it could have been taken as a curt reply-i see that now-did not intend fer it to come out that way--should have said "i understand an agree"-i'm sorry if i offended.
blessings

Jagdzeit · « **Reply #28 on:** November 27, 2003, 02:09:55 AM »

Quote from: BigBill

have 3 full grown cats and the two kittens I just found dumped in the woods. I was never fond of cats until they solved my rat problem.

I hope you got them all "fixed". Otherwise you're going to need some fishers to solve the cat problem in a few short years.

I still haven't figured out why they call it "fixed" when ~~it~~ doesn't work any more and is really broken. :eek:

You have 25 to 50 chords of firewood ?? Are you talking face chords or full chords ? Either way, that's a LOT of wood.

Stay safe,
Franz

1911crazy · « **Reply #29 on:** November 27, 2003, 03:17:20 AM »

YES all my animals are "fixed" there is an over population of breeding here and a shortage of homes. Thank God we have a animal shelter that doesn't kill the homeless pets they find everyone homes. I actually have three dogs my daughter has one of my other dogs since she bought her own place. As far as finding abandoned/dumped cats(kittens) I can't have anymore they have to go to the shelter quick. BigBill