One of the animals that lives in our area but you rarely see is a fisher. Fisher are members of the weasel family and like their relatives the weasels and mink are great hunters. Because they are fairly secretive and not all that common it is more likely that you will see their tracks in the snow than the actual critter. Fisher have a reputation for ferocity but most of the time they live quietly in the woods living on a diet of squirrels and porcupines.
One evening earlier this week Argy and I were on our evening walk. As we passed a woods road that heads into a neighbors woodlot Argy asked excitedly what is that? I looked and there on its hind legs was a female fisher not fifty feet away. Jet black and clearly as surprised to see us as we were it. After only a second it turned and ran straight away down the woods making my identification more positive as it ran with that weasel lope.
The entire encounter was over in around 30 seconds but it was a great reminder that we are fortunate to live where wildlife abounds and might be encountered at any moment. Any one of our nature exploration trips can put you where unusual and interesting wildlife sightings are likely to happen.
Add new comment