Fishers by nature do not like open spaces and prefer tree cover or coniferous forests to dwell in. heavily wooded places like New England make an ideal habitat for Fisher cats.
New England Fisher cats are one of the largest members of the Mustelid family, which includes species like the mink, weasel, otter and skunk. These are noted nocturnal animals and therefore very hard to observe. They are however active during both daytime as ell as night time and that too, mostly during the time just before sunset and just before sunrise, when it mainly searches for food. Their cry is similar to that of a high pitched one of a child’s and therefore can sound very eerie in the nights.
The fisher cat second in size only to the river otter, and ranks amongst the largest members of the weasel family ever, to dwell in Massachusetts. These animals were displaced and their numbers dwindled many years ago, when the farmers cleared the forests and surrounding areas for agriculture. Fishers who are susceptible to trapping and logging were badly affected during this time and were forced to move out into other neighboring areas such as scattered locations in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, and Virginia. However due to their departure from the aforementioned area, the porcupine population started swelling; and in order to control this menace, the people of New England re-introduced the fishers to curb the porcupine numbers. Nowadays, fishers can be found in virtually all areas or communities in Massachusetts, with the exception of Cape Cod and the Islands.
Until very recently, only rare reports of fisher sightings have been reported by the Massachusetts Audubon Society; however, since 2000, these sightings have increased substantially in number especially in areas of eastern Massachusetts. Reasons for this increase in number have been attributed to reforestation of land, which was previously reserved for farming.
There have been many wildlife laws in place which dictate the manner in which these fishers are to be captured in required to control their numbers and humanely destroyed. These laws have helped keep a check on their habitat and numbers.
Fishers are reserved by nature and are solitary in their mannerisms. They are not known to hunt in groups and are only seen in groups during the mating season. These animals will never den near human dwellings and normally keep their distance from humans.
Even thought their numbers have increased in New England area in US, fishers are hardly a threat to humans even thought they are known carnivores. Fishers prefer snowshoe hares, mice shrews, carrion, etc, and have been known to eat fruit and berries too. It is one of the few animals, which can attack, kill and eat a porcupine!
The population density is known to be one per 2.6 – 7.5 sq. km, but can be as low as 1 per 200 sq. km. The daily movement is observed to be 1.5 to 3 km in a day, but this distance is known to vary given the weather conditions. Fishers walk on the soles of their feet and can climb and swim very well. The fisher paws, have, on its soles large surfaces to help it run on snow without sinking in easily. If its disturbed by any creature or anything, fisher cats tend to arch its back like a cat and is known to hiss, growl, snarl or spit as well as give off an offensive odor!
The fishers are known for their thick fur coats, which provide good insulation against the cold and inclement weather.
We spotted a fisher in Centennial Park in Wellesley this week. Last night, the fisher was screaming for about 5 minutes and woke us up! Oct. 18, 2008
One of the users here commented that fisher cats make very little sound. I can see that you would definitely disagree with them on this argument.
Saw a large one (over 3′) last night crawling over the stone wall into Blithewold in Bristol. This fisher has been patrolling our neighborhood for about 3 months and it has occasionally been in our backyard screeching. Our neighbors thought it was our baby. This one is huge and has a reddish hue. WE caught it in our headlights coming home last night , Halloween, a bit creepy. NO wonder it loves Blithewold.
I have two friends that have heard them screeching in thier backyard in the last two months. One lives in Duxbury and the other in Pembroke.
saw a large one in my back yard 8.am
mills ma .cat that lived in my barn has not been seen for soom time
We have a fisher living in the woods behind our home here in Truro, MA. We hear its scream usually from dusk throughout the evening. Prior to hearing him for the first time we had quite a colony of chipmunks in our yard. We’ve seen scarcely one since the fisher arrived. (One upside to this is that chipmunks would get into our attic winters past. None so far this year.)
have one living next to my house in a little wooded area …i had two cats disappear recently. i live in warwick R.I.
Does anyone know if these can be found in NE Pa. I suspect the answer is yes but just curious
I have strange foot prints in my woodland areas dropping and other signs that lead to fisher cats perhaps a female with babys too.
Saw one in our woods in Weston, MA, and have heard the screeches many times. We used to have a lot of chipmunks; not anymore.
I caught one on my wildlife camera last night in North Andover. Cool looking creatures!
I have not seen one yet…my husband has been noticing strange paw-prints…
We have a pretty open backyard, but very quite neighborhood, in Warwick. The back of the neighborhood is wooded and we have a small patch of heavily trees. Then my brother in-law said he saw the Fisher the other day and it hissed at him. Now my son’s girlfriend says they have seen them across the street from her house in the small patch of woods, also Warwick. Have not heard the screaming yet. I hope I don’t meet up with it walking to my car.
Had one of these behind our home last night in Southwick, MA. The screeching sounded like a cat’s voice superimposed over the voice of a child crying for help. .. The sound was disturbing. There are many food sources in the area. Have never seen a porcupine in Massachusetts.
Last night I spotted an animal larger than a cat, but smaller than a dog, trotting toward a wooded park at the end of my street in Maynard. Today my neighbor called to say that she was looking at what she thought was a fisher cat running through my backyard around 5pm today headed toward the direction of the wooded area.
My family saw a fisher cat wandering around our backyard in Coventry, CT. Once the creature heard us, it scooted away as fast as it could go.
I saw a fisher cat in a neighbor’s back yard around 4:30 today. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, and by the time I backed the car out and proceeded around the corner, it had crossed the street and was going up another driveway.
I live in Dedham, in a fairly heavily populated neighborhood, and have not seen one here before. I have seen one in the Blue Hills, which are not far from here. I have two small dogs, and will not be leaving them in my fenced-in yard unattended. I’m going to mention this to some of my neighbors.
Just witnessed fisher cat in my back yard on long pond in Dracut massachusetts …Please watch your animals..
I live in Holyoke, MA and we heard that distinct cry last week, on a couple of evenings, coming from the sparse woods behind our home. I really thought that a person was being hurt. My husband flashed around the mag lite and saw some reflective eyes peering back at him, but couldn’t make out a body in the dark. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for a decrease in other wildlife such as squirrels and birds which are usually plentiful in our yard.
This site fisher cat screech is really cool, I loved reading everyones stories. I listened to the sound videos and I think I definitely have a fisher cat in my back yard….it makes really freaky noises! I know fisher cats will eat cats and other small animals, but will really fisher cats go after humans? Just how dangerous are these noisy fisher cats?
i dont think fisher cats go after humans
Confirmed fisher cat on Acquidneck Island about noon prior to rainfall. The mature animal rambled rapidly out of a wooded area chasing and catching a mouse. It had a full black coat and was much bigger than a squirrel.
We have had a fisher cat around our home over the last few months. one morning a rabbit came running out from under a deck, we thought it was unusual but within a few seconds a fisher cat came running over the patio. It did not go in the didection of the rabbit but from the tracks and droppings it has been around alot. We saw it again out in the woods the other day. No sign of any rabbits around anymore.
Just this morning, I saw an animal, which after some research, I am pretty sure was a fisher, lope through our back yard. I only saw it for about 20 seconds or so. It looked to be about 30-36″ long, with the big bushy tail making up at least a third of the length. It was very dark in color, with no noticeable markings. The ears were close to the head, with a short muzzle. It ran differently that a cat or dog would, not level to the ground, but more like a hopping gait. The two front legs thrust forward, then the two rear legs catching up with the fronts. I have seen fox, both red and black in the yard, along with three coyote sightings, deer, turkey, skunk, groundhog, and porcupine. This is the first time I have seen an animal like this, near the house. So far, I don’t recall hearing anything like the screech type call attributed to them. I live in a semi-rural area of NY, just northwest of Schenectady.
At the end of last week one of our 10-month-old kittens came in stinking of something that was sort of skunky, but more like rank perspiration.Weird smell. We didn’t think anything more about it until another of the kittens vanished without a trace from the yard–within 15 feet of the back door–just at dark two days later–that was last Friday. Then, last evening–again, just at dark–the remaining two kittens and our 15-year-old cat were on the back patio (the light was on) when suddenly the little girl rocketed thru the cat flap, her fur standing totally on end. I grabbed the flashlight, flung the door open and yelled for the other kitten who, like his sister, burst from the barn door (our barn attaches to the house and the sliding door was open about 4 inches) some 10 feet away and flung himself thru the cat flap. Our two rat terriers came dashing out thru the flap and ran to the barn entry, barking and hopping mad, noses to the ground and hackles raised. One of them tracked into the barn where the kitten had been and stood there raving and snarling, then dashed out to the apron of the barn and both dogs tracked across the yard to the back fence. I guess the snarling let the old cat know that help was at hand because he crept out from a pile of lumber stacked at the end of the barn some 30 feet away and fled to me on the patio. All this took about 30 seconds. The same odor we had smelled on our boy kitten was very strong now around the barn door–and in another 20 seconds or so, I heard a fisher shriek about 150 yards away. This thing is hunting in my yard, fully aware that cats live here and we are really worried that it will come back during the daytime, which is the only time we will let the cats out now. And we’re not at all sure our dogs are safe, either. If fishers kill porcupines, then rat terriers aren’t likely to be much of a challenge.
Saw one this morning at 7AM in Uxbridge, MA. A very large male. Appropriately ran away when he noticed us 50 yards away.
I moved to Leominster, MA about 8 months ago and this is the first time I’ve heard of fisher cats. With the winter over (practically), I’ve been wanting to keep my two dogs (Bichon Frises) outside when I go to work for two reasons: they really enjoy being outside, and they are making too much of a mess in the room I’m currently keeping them in during the day (they’re litter trained and have a habit of playing with the liter and other contents despite the fact that they have plenty of toys to play with).
Anyway, I guess what I’d like to know is if anyone in Leominster has spotted fisher cats in the city. I live relative close to the downtown area and I’ve read that fishers try to stay away from humans. I’ve also read that they can be active during the day (mostly in winter) or at night (mostly during the summer). Although summer’s approaching and I live in a relatively populated residential area, should I still be weary of these creatures during the day?
Thanks in advance for any replies!
I had my parents over for dinner on Tuesday night and the dog went wild. Her hair stood up on her back, she was barking and growling. We looked outside and saw a small frame Weasel type animal in the tree about 75 feet from the house. It came down the tree and ran over to the neighbor’s house. A little while later we saw it again, but this time it looked much bigger. It went over by a big Pine Tree and just laid on the ground. I was able to go out onto the porch and take a few photos of it; we determined it was a Fisher. It has been around for 3 days. Tonight the dog keyed up again and there was the smaller fisher again. It ran up the Pine tree. I watched for about an hour. Never saw it return down the tree. I went out to the road. I looked back at the tree, I could see a hole about 40 feet up. I could see something has been climbing in and out of it. I have been watching for the past 2 hours now and it has not come down the tree. Jeff Gilford NH
Fisher cats have been seen to kill cats and small dogs, sometimes in front of their owners here in York County, Maine. I no longer let my cat out except in good weather on a leash and even then it makes me nervous. My vet assures me that no small pet could survive a fisher cat attack and that it is not wise to let them out off a leash where fishers are known to roam. We know when one is around because of the screeching.
March24 I saw a Fisher cat around noon time up in the woods here in Peabody. It was quite a big one and black looking. It went by twice the same trail. Dottie
Saw a fisher walking through my yard at 6 p.m., just 20 feet from the house (Weston, MA). We have lots of woods and have seen fishers in the past. Chipmunk and squirrel populations have disappeared over the last 2 years. We never see opossums, skunks, or raccoons the way we did when we lived in Brookline. My guess is that the fishers (yes, more than one as I’ve heard breeding squeals) do a number on the small woodland creatures around here.
I live in Ashburnham Ma. and i have a fishercat in my area, I have seen it in my yard and have had to chase it away when it was comming after my . now dont be mistaken a fishercat will attack a human or large dog if it feels threatened. my dog is a German Shorthaird Pointer, a good sized hunting dog , not a small terrier. the fisher cat in my area is very large (3-3.5 ft) and almost all black. thank god for my invisable fence or my dog would have been gone after the fisher.
Dont get me wrong, a fisher will not hunt humans, but if you stumble onto one it will attack even if you have a large dog with you. your best bet is to turn and run. they will chase you for a short distance but give up after a while. O and make sure you bring your dog with you .. even big dogs get torn up in a fight with a fisher, they are nasty animals.
As for the person in leominster ya there is a real good chance that there are fishers in your area… maybe even the same one that spends time in my yard, I’m only 2 towns away.
I’m looking into try’n a live trap to relocate my fisher as i have 4 kids that play in my big yard surrounded by woods. I hear that they like liver..
o and by the way they love cats… yummy. if you have cats dissapearing in your town … theres a good chance you have a fisher..
Saw the fisher again yesterday in our backyard (Boxford, MA) around 10am. He’s quite large around 3-4 feet ihead to toe. This is the fourth siting in since last fall. I’m getting a little concerned because my daughter and her friends spotted him along a walk a couple of months ago and they said he approached within 20-30 feet. Now realizing that they may attack humans if they feel threatened this is not comforting news. By the way they were walking along the road not in the woods.
I live near the Boxford sighting. How can I keep a Fisher Cat out of my yard and away from my Papillon dog? He has a dog door and sometimes goes out at night. I hate to keep him in the house for the rest of his life. Thanks for any and all help.
Oh, to add to my previous posting the dog yard has a six foot wood fence with a wire fence nailed to the bottom of the fence down 12 inches into the dirt.
I was sitting on my back deck in Durham, CT at about 1:30 PM and saw a fisher cat come down the hill behind my house. I didn’t move and just watched it walk and explore all the large rocks that are about 50 feet away from where I was sitting. Wish I had a camera but I didn’t want to frighten it by moving. We’ve heard them scream at night but it was great to see one so close. It looked like a large male and was chestnut brown and black.
Just saw a fischer cat on my deck outside the kitchen in North Reading at dusk. My husband followed it as it ran into the woods and up a tree.
there was a large Fisher Cat in the back yard at 9:15pm on 4/26/09. we live at 1120 mammoth road. in Dracut ma. it was
screaming like a baby sounded like a small child. we ran out side with flashlights and spotted it sitting on the rocks along side of the house.
My son was just walking in our Groveland woods and spotted a fisher cat coming down a tree at around 7:30pm. Yes, lots of cats disappearing from the neighborhood. And, yes, they make a hair raising noise in the night!
4:00 a.m. just out for my morning walk…….heard the most haunting scream ………thought is was a child or woman……….neighbors also heard the screech……….very few squirrels in the area this spring which is unusual………..definitely a fisher cat!
Reading, MA
Saw a large fisher cat in my back yard in Smithfield RI this morning. Verified with animal control that there have been other sitings.
my loving cat did not come home last night- (she has been spayed). and I saw a fisher cat today on the road. I am heartbroken.
I’ve lost six cats in the 30 years I’ve lived in Vermont. I am quite sure it is Fishers, everyone else has lost cats also, but it is very difficult to keep a cat inside when it wants to go out. I now try to keep my cats in after dark, I hope that helps.
My wife spotted one walking through our yard. Our back yard is adjacent to a wet land (that’s not very wet, basically woods) and he was walking early a.m. from the neighborhood side of house to the woods. I knew we had them around because I have heard them calling before. We live in North Kingstown RI.
Here in Nahant, MA, a small town that is 1 square mile in size and 2 miles out in the ocean connected by a causway, there seems to have been 2 sightings of a fisher cat. One friend of mine leaves food out at night for ferral cats and skunks. She also feeds the birds. Last night she heard the screaching noises and went to the window and saw a large fisher cat running down the street. Another friend also hears schreaching outside her house at night from time to time. It is probably the same fisher cat as they live on the other side of the wooded area. How did the fisher cat get out to Nahant? Did someone drop it off out here? For years we have dealt with deer, fox and coyotes. Now a fisher cat. Geeeeeshh.. What’s next.
REST ASSURED…THE BABY LIKE SCREAMING IS WHEN THEIR FOOD SOURCE IS IN DANGER…OR WHEN MATING….THE MOST COMMON SOUND IS ALMOST LIKE ROLLING YOUR TONGUE AND MAKING A LOUD RATTLE SNAKE SOUND. NONTHELESS NOT HAPPY WITH ONE IN OUR YARD. YORK COUNTY MAINE
East Haddam, CT
Fisher cat ran in front of my car on back, dirt road from the woods into the woods. Seven month old kitten missing few days later. Beware fisher cat, I will find you……
I’ve seen one on two occasions in the past couple of weeks come over my rock wall in Naples, Maine. The first time I got my video camera and it actually let me get within 20 yards of it. Didnt care. I could not believe it. Tonight I didnt see it, but let me tell you I heard it. I called 911, then afterwards realized that it must have been the FisherCat and not a human….
Saw a fisher cat in Lincoln, MA today crossing the road in a residential, wooded area, about 300 yards from the Lincoln Public Schools and my son’s pre-school. He actually stopped in the road to scratch himself, so he didn’t seem too fearful. Yikes!!! I’ve only ever seen them in Lincoln; never in Sudbury where I live.
Saw a fisher cat today in Lincoln, MA near the Lincoln Public Schools. He was running across the street and then stopped in the middle of the road to scratch himself. Scary creature! This is the second or third time I’ve seen one in Lincoln. I’ve never seen one in Sudbury where I live.
I saw a fisher cat when I was working in Easthampton, MA at Arcadia (Mass Audubon) as a camp counselor a few years ago. I was taking the kids on a walk through the woods and one jumped from a limb on a tree and ran away from us! At the time, I had no idea what it was, but after describing it I was told it was a fisher cat.
I recently heard one in the woods behind my house in Atkinson, NH. I thought someone was being murdered… it was horrible! Then I remembered that fisher cats make scary noises and I saw my cat running back into the house. I wouldn’t mind never hearing that noise again!