Kathleen Kudlinski
The Naturalist for May 2, 2010
"We live in a typical neighborhood in Branford with some woods behind us, " Annie wrote this week. "Imagine my surprise one early morning last week as a fisher cat strolled thru the woods, pretty close to our fenceline!" She asked me to write about them. So have six other people since the last time I covered these fascinating "fisher cat"
Fishers do not fish and are no relation to cats. Instead, they're in the weasel family, along with mink and otters, weasels, ferrets, skunks, and badgers. All weasels are 'obligate' carnivores: they must eat meat or die. They simply do not have the enlarged part of the digestive tract for breaking down vegetables that rabbits and grouse do.
People talk about fishers in wildly emotional terms. They say they are "killers" instead of simply "meat eaters. They use the words
Why the wild response to a small animal?
A conversation at the local convenience store gave me a clue. Three men were swapping stories about fishers and how dangerous they were. They had themselves whipped into a delicious frenzy when one of them expanded his rant to include coyotes and bobcats, "killers, all of 'em." Any of these men could kill a cat-sized fisher with one well aimed kick.
Was this how our ancestors talked, squatting around a campfire, as they faced a truly dangerous natural world? Once upon a time, we lived among big carnivores; real threats to make our blood run cold. Do we miss that feeling?
Fishers don't attack people. They aren't aggressive unless cornered. They very rarely get rabies. Their faces are actually cute – except in photos where cornered animals snarl in fear. Fishers are cat-sized but with much fuller tails and shorter legs. Round ears, wide eyes, a dog-like snout, and a cute little nose – they are more suited to a animation than demonization. Their dark brown fur is long, glossy, and mink-like, which is why they were trapped to extinction in Connecticut long ago.
Released back into Connecticut, they are fairly common again, ghosting through the suburbs and edging into towns. Like all weasels, they have a high metabolism. They are hungry. They eat and are hungry quickly again. That means fishers have to find food often, and are active day and night. They kill only what they need to survive, attacking animals their size or smaller themselves.
Rabbits, squirrels, mice, voles, and large-bodied birds are their preferred prey. Fishers are incredible athletes, chasing squirrels through the tree tops – and catching them. They are one of the few predators that can take on a porcupine. Fishers will also chew on dead deer or moose that they find, staying near the feast for days.
Is this "bloodthirsty?" No. It is simply how a carnivore lives. To kill, a fisher bites at the base of the neck so its prey dies quickly. It can't risk getting hurt in a wild struggle, and it never plays with its prey the way cats do. And, unlike a cat, it only kills what it needs to eat.
If attacked or chased by a bigger animal, fishers turn and defend themselves, of course. So do mice. You would, too. Dogs go after fleet-footed prey – and fishers are irresistible. Any fishers would fight back with their cat-like teeth and claws. Large dogs come home bloodied and sorry.
Small dogs, house cats, and chickens simply look like prey animals to a hungry fisher. That may be the source of the astonishing level of hatred and fear expressed about fishers. Yes, they will kill our pets and poultry. So will great horned owls or barred owls, both common in our area. Cars and trucks are truly heartless killers on the street.
Dogs on leashes are safe from fishers - and legal. Chickens and turkeys behind fences or in secure hen houses are safe, too. No fisher, coyote, owl, or car will ever kill an indoor cat. Did you know that house cats are the most common predator in Connecticut? Just for entertainment, any well-fed pet cat will kill far more birds and small animals than it needs to survive - and then 'play' with its prey until they die. Now that does sound "vicious," "ferocious," and "blood thirsty."
-----Original Message-----
From: Kathleen Kudlinski [mailto:kathkud@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 6:40 AM
To: Meril, Rick
Subject: Re: welcome to.................. coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com
Hi Rick -
What fun to connect across the Internet with similar interests! I appreciate your careful crediting of my gray fox article and I'm fascinated by your blog. I would love to put a link to coyotes-wolves-cougars into my web page/blog - and I'd be delighted to have you reciprocate. I often write about herbivores and such, and your readers might be interested.
I'm attaching an article I did about fishers, a small carnivore whose reintroduction into Connecticut has elicited such emotion you would think the F&W had resurrected saber-toothed tigers instead. Feel free to use it whenever you have need.
Did you know that the coyotes here in Connecticut are substantially larger than their western ancestors. They're just as smart, bold, and adaptable, but big. One theory says that as they migrated eastward (to fill the niche left empty by the eradication of native New England wolves) they crossed with wolves in southern Canada. Perhaps they simply - and rapidly - are adapting to better fill the deer-eating slot in this deer-rich environment. It is fascinating.
I'll look forward to seeing what all else you post!
Yours,
Kathleen
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Kathleen Kudlinski's website is up at last! www.kathleenkudlinski.com. Visit my "Place by the Pond" nature and science blog, new three times a week.
My next picture book, HORSE INDIAN WOLF comes out mid-September and I can't wait a minute longer to announce it!
BOY, WERE WE WRONG ABOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM! is being translated into Hebrew for publication in Israel this year.
BOY WERE WE WRONG ABOUT DINOSAURS! will be included in a textbook next year.
-----Original Message-----
From: Meril, Rick <Rick.Meril@warnerbros.com>
To: 'kathkud@aol.com' <kathkud@aol.com>
Sent: Mon, Aug 16, 2010 2:27 pm
Subject: FW: welcome to.................. coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com
Kathleen………..enjoyed your article on the Gray and Red Foxes inhabiting Connecticut……..If there is anything that you would like published in my blog(click on any of the links below), would be happy to post for you.
Rick
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