Bold Fisher Cat

upthesaukee · 04-26-2017, 03:09 PM

Just a colloquialism. I know better and it will still slip out from my lips.

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donnamatrix · 05-01-2017, 04:00 PM

I remember back around 1991-1992 on Moultonboro Neck that many - like 30 - cats "disappeared" during the summer. One belonged to a friend of ours. It was believed at the time that a family of fishers was responsible. I read once that a fisher has a higher pound-per-square-inch pressure bite than a Great White. If they attack an animal, the prey dies "instantly" .... if that is possible. Are they still protected? they used to be.

Hillcountry · 05-01-2017, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donnamatrix

I remember back around 1991-1992 on Moultonboro Neck that many - like 30 - cats "disappeared" during the summer. One belonged to a friend of ours. It was believed at the time that a family of fishers was responsible. I read once that a fisher has a higher pound-per-square-inch pressure bite than a Great White. If they attack an animal, the prey dies "instantly" .... if that is possible. Are they still protected? they used to be.

Not protected....they can be hunted and trapped in specific seasons.

donnamatrix · 05-02-2017, 10:48 AM

They are of the weasel family, but NOT the size of a weasel. Here is a photo of a fellow holding a recently caught fisher.

VitaBene · 05-02-2017, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donnamatrix

They are of the weasel family, but NOT the size of a weasel. Here is a photo of a fellow holding a recently caught fisher.

"recently caught"= shot dead!!

Sorry, this pic caused a pretty good facebook discussion!

donnamatrix · 05-02-2017, 12:29 PM

Okay, but I was really meaning to highlight the size of the fisher.

8gv · 05-02-2017, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VitaBene

"recently caught"= shot dead!!

Sorry, this pic caused a pretty good facebook discussion!

"If looks could kill, it would have been us instead of him..."

Airedale1 · 05-02-2017, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donnamatrix

They are of the weasel family, but NOT the size of a weasel. Here is a photo of a fellow holding a recently caught fisher.

That is huge! That is twice as big as any Fisher Cat I've ever seen; alive or dead.

Hillcountry · 05-02-2017, 02:31 PM

There is a bit of "photo cheating" going on in the pic like when fishermen "push" the fish toward the camera but nevertheless, it is a large specimen all the same.

ishoot308 · 05-02-2017, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

like when fishermen "push" the fish toward the camera but nevertheless, it is a large specimen all the same.

Hey hey hey! Stop giving away trade secrets will ya!! 😄😄

Dan

Airedale1 · 05-02-2017, 03:54 PM

Some interesting background info on the Fisher Cat that I found online.

Historical Background

Fishers were extirpated from much of the northeast in the 1700s and 1800s when loggers and farmers cleared the forests and unregulated trapping took its toll. During the late 1800s, as farms were abandoned and the land became reforested, fisher numbers rebounded.

In the 1950s logging companies, with permission from each state, reintroduced fishers into northern New England to control porcupines. At the time, porcupines were decimating seedlings planted by the timber companies to reestablish trees in logged areas. Fisher is the only species to deliberately target porcupines as prey.

In the east they are now found in southern Canada, New England and New York, and in scattered locations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia.

Food & Diet

For the most part fishers are carnivores, although they will eat berries and fruit when available. They eat rabbits, snowshoe hares, squirrels, raccoons, mice, reptiles, amphibians, insects, carrion (dead or decaying animal flesh), and occasionally house cats. Even though fishers do not catch live fish, they will eat dead fish found on the shore of a lake or pond.

Fishers are one of the few mammals that prey on porcupines. Porcupines are difficult to kill, but a dead porcupine can provide many days of food for a fisher, so it is worth the effort. While on the ground, the fisher continually attacks the only vulnerable portions of the porcupine’s body, its face and underbelly. When facial wounds have weakened the porcupine, the fisher goes in for the kill. To avoid the quills, the fisher eats its prey starting at the head, neck, or underbelly.

Slickcraft · 05-02-2017, 04:37 PM

Food & diet

I am wondering, if like bobcats, fishers have developed a taste for wild turkey. It seams like they have all the necessary skills and there is an over abundance of wild turkey.

Hillcountry · 05-02-2017, 06:30 PM

Overabundance of wild turkeys?
I've been hunting them ( casually, meaning I am not a diehard turkey hunter) for years and haven't killed my first yet...

thinkxingu · 05-02-2017, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

Overabundance of wild turkeys?
I've been hunting them ( casually, meaning I am not a diehard turkey hunter) for years and haven't killed my first yet...

Really?! I almost run over half a dozen each weekend I head down Moultonborough Neck!

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04-26-2017, 03:09 PM	#1
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,602 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,466 Thanked 1,983 Times in 1,083 Posts	Just a colloquialism. I know better and it will still slip out from my lips. Sent from my GT-P5210 using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

05-01-2017, 04:00 PM	#2
donnamatrix Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonboro Posts: 833 Thanks: 24 Thanked 258 Times in 120 Posts	Fishers! I remember back around 1991-1992 on Moultonboro Neck that many - like 30 - cats "disappeared" during the summer. One belonged to a friend of ours. It was believed at the time that a family of fishers was responsible. I read once that a fisher has a higher pound-per-square-inch pressure bite than a Great White. If they attack an animal, the prey dies "instantly" .... if that is possible. Are they still protected? they used to be.

05-02-2017, 10:48 AM	#4
donnamatrix Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonboro Posts: 833 Thanks: 24 Thanked 258 Times in 120 Posts	Fisher photo They are of the weasel family, but NOT the size of a weasel. Here is a photo of a fellow holding a recently caught fisher. Attached Images

05-02-2017, 12:29 PM	#6
donnamatrix Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonboro Posts: 833 Thanks: 24 Thanked 258 Times in 120 Posts	Caught=shot Okay, but I was really meaning to highlight the size of the fisher.

05-02-2017, 03:54 PM	#11
Airedale1 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Laconia Posts: 595 Thanks: 557 Thanked 1,569 Times in 274 Posts	Some interesting background info on the Fisher Cat that I found online. Historical Background Fishers were extirpated from much of the northeast in the 1700s and 1800s when loggers and farmers cleared the forests and unregulated trapping took its toll. During the late 1800s, as farms were abandoned and the land became reforested, fisher numbers rebounded. In the 1950s logging companies, with permission from each state, reintroduced fishers into northern New England to control porcupines. At the time, porcupines were decimating seedlings planted by the timber companies to reestablish trees in logged areas. Fisher is the only species to deliberately target porcupines as prey. In the east they are now found in southern Canada, New England and New York, and in scattered locations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia. Food & Diet For the most part fishers are carnivores, although they will eat berries and fruit when available. They eat rabbits, snowshoe hares, squirrels, raccoons, mice, reptiles, amphibians, insects, carrion (dead or decaying animal flesh), and occasionally house cats. Even though fishers do not catch live fish, they will eat dead fish found on the shore of a lake or pond. Fishers are one of the few mammals that prey on porcupines. Porcupines are difficult to kill, but a dead porcupine can provide many days of food for a fisher, so it is worth the effort. While on the ground, the fisher continually attacks the only vulnerable portions of the porcupine’s body, its face and underbelly. When facial wounds have weakened the porcupine, the fisher goes in for the kill. To avoid the quills, the fisher eats its prey starting at the head, neck, or underbelly. __________________ "The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit." Nelson Henderson (1865-1943)

05-02-2017, 02:31 PM	#9
Hillcountry Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: In the hills Posts: 2,420 Thanks: 1,677 Thanked 786 Times in 466 Posts	There is a bit of "photo cheating" going on in the pic like when fishermen "push" the fish toward the camera but nevertheless, it is a large specimen all the same.

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to ishoot308 For This Useful Post:
Hillcountry (05-02-2017), Outdoorsman (05-02-2017)

05-02-2017, 04:37 PM	#12
Slickcraft Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Welch Island and The Taylor Community Posts: 3,312 Thanks: 1,230 Thanked 2,100 Times in 959 Posts	Food & diet I am wondering, if like bobcats, fishers have developed a taste for wild turkey. It seams like they have all the necessary skills and there is an over abundance of wild turkey.

05-02-2017, 06:30 PM	#13
Hillcountry Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: In the hills Posts: 2,420 Thanks: 1,677 Thanked 786 Times in 466 Posts	Overabundance of wild turkeys? I've been hunting them ( casually, meaning I am not a diehard turkey hunter) for years and haven't killed my first yet...