Bold Fisher Cat

[Gkellys]

We had a very large, bold fisher cat stalking our small dogs at dusk last evening -near our back door in the Kona, Moultonborough area. It seemed fairly determined to interact with our dogs. Pretty concerning, and thought others should be aware!

[Hillcountry]

Very odd for such a shy and wary critter like the fisher cat to hang around like that...you should put a call into Fish and Game to give them a heads up in case they are tracking calls on this particular animal.
Oh yeah..keep your dogs close and if you go out with them a .22 handgun would be comforting to have in a pocket!

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Gkellys

We had a very large, bold fisher cat stalking our small dogs at dusk last evening -near our back door in the Kona, Moultonborough area. It seemed fairly determined to interact with our dogs. Pretty concerning, and thought others should be aware!

Fishercats are about as mean as it gets! They will take on and kill any small household pet such as cats and small dogs!

Nice of you to put out a warning for others in the area.

Dan

[Slickcraft]

About a week ago we saw a fisher bound across the road in front of us; on the bypass near the Lily Pond end. That is only the 3rd that I have seen in my life. When we lived down in Danville we lost a house cat to one.

Of course fishers are not cats.

[Woody38]

Last week I saw what appeared to be a bobcat in the yard of the house in Massachusetts. He appeared to be a little larger than a normal cat and had a rather large head. I don't know if there are any domestic cats that resemble a bobcat so if anyone knows please let me know.
We do have occicats in the neighborhood and they are beautiful animals looking exactly like an ocelot.


I am a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic.

[kawishiwi]

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

Very odd for such a shy and wary critter like the fisher cat to hang around like that...you should put a call into Fish and Game to give them a heads up in case they are tracking calls on this particular animal.
Oh yeah..keep your dogs close and if you go out with them a .22 handgun would be comforting to have in a pocket!

I think a cap gun or air horn would be safer. The chance of hitting a fisher cat with a .22 handgun is as close to zero as you can possibly get without actually being zero. Scare it away with the noise? Maybe.





_______________________
“The plan gets better and better and better and it’s gotten really really good and a lot of people are liking it a lot.”

[Hillcountry]

As a long time .22 caliber shooter (match and silhouette) I can an do, hit what I'm aiming at with no problem whatsoever with my S&W Model 41 semi-auto.

Not sure a what experience you have but it doesn't sound like much...

[ITD]

Originally Posted by Gkellys

We had a very large, bold fisher cat stalking our small dogs at dusk last evening -near our back door in the Kona, Moultonborough area. It seemed fairly determined to interact with our dogs. Pretty concerning, and thought others should be aware!

He wasn't trying to interact, he was trying to eat them. Be very careful with small dogs in these wooded areas. A friend of mine had his Jack Russell snatched by a coyote right in front of him on the Cape, he chased the coyote for about a 1/4 mile, got the dog back, but the dog didn't make it.

There are eagles, foxes, coyotes, fishers and probably a few more predators that think a small dog or cat would be a tasty meal.

[kawishiwi]

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

As a long time .22 caliber shooter (match and silhouette) I can an do, hit what I'm aiming at with no problem whatsoever with my S&W Model 41 semi-auto.

Not sure a what experience you have but it doesn't sound like much...

Do you have ANY clue as to what a fisher cat is? I have actually seen one from 10 ft away. I am sure you can hit all the paper targets you want. A fishercat is a weasel. And fast. Your cance of hitting a fishercat thats attacking a pet is similar to hitting a squirrel at a full speed evasive run. Though a fishercat is larger than a squirrel it has the speed and agility. And if its attacking your pet you are far more likely to hit your pet if you hit anything at all.

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by kawishiwi

Do you have ANY clue as to what a fisher cat is? I have actually seen one from 10 ft away. I am sure you can hit all the paper targets you want. A fishercat is a weasel. And fast. Your cance of hitting a fishercat thats attacking a pet is similar to hitting a squirrel at a full speed evasive run. Though a fishercat is larger than a squirrel it has the speed and agility. And if its attacking your pet you are far more likely to hit your pet if you hit anything at all.

I've seen them from my tree stands (deer hunting) numerous times over the years since the 1970's. I also have many images on my trail cameras...
You are correct that try are nimble (they Have to catch squirrels, mostly red, to survive.)
I wouldn't ever hit my pet under any circumstance but it's unlikely I would have the opportunity as she is 75 lbs of pure muscle and adrenaline.
My issue is how you can say I wouldn't be able to do something that I am proficient at, not knowing me in the least...you are off base sir!

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by kawishiwi

Do you have ANY clue as to what a fisher cat is? .

Not to be a wise guy but do you have any clue that there is no "fisher cat"?Its just called a fisher.

[upthesaukee]

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

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[Seaplane Pilot]

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

I've seen them from my tree stands (deer hunting) numerous times over the years since the 1970's. I also have many images on my trail cameras...
You are correct that try are nimble (they Have to catch squirrels, mostly red, to survive.)
I wouldn't ever hit my pet under any circumstance but it's unlikely I would have the opportunity as she is 75 lbs of pure muscle and adrenaline.
My issue is how you can say I wouldn't be able to do something that I am proficient at, not knowing me in the least...you are off base sir!

I think you should hand Mr. Fisher a bouquet of flowers, and ask him very nicely to not attack and eat your dogs. This approach always works wonders in many other areas of society, so why not with a mean, naughty animal? On second thought...screw being nice to that "thug"...get a 45 and blow his head off!

[noreast]

They do look good stuffed.

[ishoot308]

I wonder what they taste like?

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

I wonder what they taste like?

Chicken.

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[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

Not to be a wise guy but do you have any clue that there is no "fisher cat"?Its just called a fisher.

Absolutely correct as to the real thing. And then there is the made up stuff:

http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t463

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

I wonder what they taste like?

Fisher Cat....the other white meat

[SAB1]

I see Fishers frequently when hunting. Dont think the .22 would be my weapon of choice to dispatch one.

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by SAB1

I see Fishers frequently when hunting. Dont think the .22 would be my weapon of choice to dispatch one.

Well for a walk in the woods it's hard to beat a .22 but my hunting carry pistol is a KelTec .22 magnum semi auto with the 30 round magazine!
That's firepower! Very light weight too...

[Gkellys]

Thanks for the input.
For clarification of the event, it as unfazed completely when I ran out screaming and swinging a large broom. It just continued growling at my dog.
Things like pepper spray and .22 s crossed my mind,
But I was starkly aware that I might hit my dog. Things happen way faster in real life with wild animals.
In my personal experience so far, it's easier to intimidate a grizzly bear.
Trying to contact fish and game...?

[Gkellys]

Originally Posted by ITD

He wasn't trying to interact, he was trying to eat them. Be very careful with small dogs in these wooded areas. A friend of mine had his Jack Russell snatched by a coyote right in front of him on the Cape, he chased the coyote for about a 1/4 mile, got the dog back, but the dog didn't make it.

There are eagles, foxes, coyotes, fishers and probably a few more predators that think a small dog or cat would be a tasty meal.

Thanks. I was trying to be diplomatic 😊

[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.

[Hillcountry]

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]

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]

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!

[ITD]

Originally Posted by Gkellys

Thanks. I was trying to be diplomatic 😊

Lol, sorry, sometimes tongue in cheek doesn't come through in written posts, especially when you are a little thick like me.

[donnamatrix]

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

[Airedale1]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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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[8gv]

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..."

[ApS]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

Not to be a wise guy but do you have any clue that there is no "fisher cat"?Its just called a fisher.

It doesn't help that Manchester has a minor league baseball team named "Fisher Cats".

There's no resemblance of fisher to cat, right?



.

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by ApS

It doesn't help that Manchester has a minor league baseball team named "Fisher Cats".

There's no resemblance of fisher to cat, right?



.

That is correct and as I write the stadium is next door to me. Come park in my parking lot, for a fee of course.

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

That is correct and as I write the stadium is next door to me. Come park in my parking lot, for a fee of course.

Careful, this guy charges a fortune for parking.
Just kidding of course...

[noreast]

They get a bad rap as "Cat killers" 1 tenth of 1% historically have had Cat in there tummies when tested. No way they could catch a cat on the ground regularly, I've seen them bound by on the ground but as fast as squirrel in a tree......I see more Turkeys than I do Robins now.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Woody38

Last week I saw what appeared to be a bobcat in the yard of the house in Massachusetts. He appeared to be a little larger than a normal cat and had a rather large head. I don't know if there are any domestic cats that resemble a bobcat so if anyone knows please let me know. We do have occicats in the neighborhood and they are beautiful animals looking exactly like an ocelot.

There have been other sightings (and many threads) of the bigger cats in the Lakes Region.

Fishers and wild members of the cat family may be distinguished by their calls. I was surprised to learn of this daytime video and the how the calls of wild cats can vary in tone and volume. (A lynk to Lynx, here) ⇩

https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=9vdDo_1522260451

.