Fisher (animal): Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The Fisher, Martes pennanti, is a North American marten. Despite its name, it does not prey on fish, but is a typical marten, a medium sized mustelid agile in trees and slender enough of body to pursue prey into hollow trees or burrows in the ground.

The Fisher is found from the Sierra Nevadas in California to the Appalachians in West Virginia, and north to New York state and Ontario. They are most often found in forests with high, continuous canopy cover. Adults weigh between 2 and 5 kg and are between 75 and 120cm in length, with the males larger and heavier than the females. Their coats are darkish brown, with a black tail and legs, and in some individuals a creamish patch on the chest.

Fishers are solitary hunters, feeding mainly on small herbivores such as mice, porcupines, squirrels and shrews. Female fishers breed first at age 1. Gestation lasts a whole year, and a litter is produced annually. The young are born in dens high up in hollow trees.

Fisher populations have declined because of loss of forest habitat and, in the past, because of trapping for their fur. They have the reputation of being shy and secretive, and they are difficult to breed in zoos. However, in some places particularly in north-eastern North America, where forest habitat is recovering near to towns, fishers seem to be habituating to human presence and are now seen more readily; there have been reports of them entering suburban areas and scavenging for rubbish, and occasionally attacking domestic animals.