"Scott McLellan, assistant regional wildlife biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the lead author of a study published recently in the Journal of Wildlife Management entitled: "Fisher predation on Canada lynx in the Northeastern United States has revealed that the 15 pound Fisher is the key mortality agentof the much larger 30 pound Lynx............McLellan's Research Abstract states the following about this phenomena---- "The geographic range of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) extends south from Canada into the United States where they are federally protected as a threatened species"................"Although inadequate protection of habitat on federal lands was the primary reason for listing, the status of lynx in the lower 48 states is not well understood"................."Thus, we initiated a telemetry study to assess the status of a lynx population in northern Maine, USA"................."Between 1999 and 2011, we captured 187 lynx, equipped 85 with radio‐collars, and investigated mortalities when they occurred"................... "Predation was the leading source of mortality and accounted for ≥18 of 65 mortalities(28+%), 14 of which were attributed to fishers (Martes pennanti)":................."Although fisher predation did not appear to restrict population growth during this study, we recommend that lynx and fishers be monitored where the species coexist to better inform management decisions"

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/09/Weasel-like-fishers-prey-on-Canada-Lynx-in-Maine-news/&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoSMjY1OTYyNTk2Nzk3MDQ2NjA4MhoxZmJhYzQ2ZmJmZTI3YzM4OmNvbTplbjpVUw&usg=AFQjCNGcrlNvhDYBrDKhN6sj-UTIFCKW1A

Small Weasel-Like 

Animals(Fishers) Are

 Taking Down Big Cats

Two elusive predators, the

 lynx and

 the fisher, battle to the 

death in

 the snowstorms of New 

England.

Joshua Rapp Learn; 9/28/18

Looks fierce? Not according to fishers, half their size.
 New researchers shows the weasels aren’t daunted
 at taking Canada lynx out for dinner – literally preying
 on the cats in Maine.

PHOTOGRAPH BY TIM FITZHARRIS, 
MINDEN PICTURES/ NAT GEO IMAGE
 COLLECTION

Don’t let the cute face distract you. Fishers are calculating predators, killing lynx and other animals by going straight for their necks.PHOTOGRAPH BY TIM FITZHARRIS,MINDEN PICTURES/NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

IN THE EMPTY winter forests of Maine,
 small weasel-like animals known as fishers
 bet against their mortal odds when it comes
to food and survival.

New research shows for the first time that
these opportunistic predators—not much
larger than a big house cat—can and do take
 down Canadian lynx, which can grow up to
double their size. (Related: Fierce, Furry
 Fishers Are Expanding Their Range—and Bulk.)

“A fisher really doesn’t have any boundaries in
 the size of the animal it’s willing to attack,”
says Scott McLellan, assistant regional wildlife
 biologist with the Maine Department of
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the lead
author of a study published recently in the
 Journal of Wildlife Management.

“We know that fishers are very opportunistic
,” he says. “They are just a ball of fury.”
 (Watch: Hear a fisher's scream.)

Scene of the Crime

While researchers never witnessed an attack
 firsthand, McLellan’s and his coauthors’ “
scavenger hunt” for these attacks started
with putting radio collars on lynx to track
 the cats’ movements in Maine from 1999
 and 2011. When they suspected that a lynx
had met its end, they would track down the
 location of the collar.

Scene of the Crime

While researchers never witnessed an attack
 firsthand, McLellan’s and his coauthors’
“scavenger hunt” for these attacks started
 with putting radio collars on lynx to track
the cats’ movements in Maine from 1999
and 2011. When they suspected that a lynx
 had met its end, they would track down the
 location of the collar.

At this point, piecing together the evidence
 was a little like forensic anthropology at a 
crime scene. They would try to find the legs
 and various parts of the cat—especially the
 neck and head, which could show bite marks
 as evidence of a fisher kill and rule out the
 possibility that the weasel just stumbled 
across a lynx who had recently died.

Lucky for the researchers, many of these
attacks happened during the dead of
winter and evidence could be seen in the snow.

Researchers found that before the attack
happened, they would often see the fisher
 tracks connect with those of the lynx,
indicating the weasels had picked up the
 cats’ trail.

A Ghost In A Snowstorm

Based on the appearance of the tracks, an
 attack by a fisher on a lynx would often
happen in the middle of a quick snowstorm,
which may have worked to the advantage of
 these vicious little predators. A fisher would
 attack, often when the cat was bedded down
to wait out the snow flurry, going right for
the lynx’s neck.

“They just buckle on. They have a pretty
 powerful grip and they know where to attack,”
 McLellan says, adding that the fishers would
 finish the cats off pretty quickly. “There was
 some struggle certainly, but it didn’t appear
 to last very long. There were some broken
branches, tufts of fur, and claw marks wher
e the lynx was trying to get away.”

Once the lynx were dead, the fun had just
 begun for the gruesome fishers. The weasels
 would begin to dismember the fresh lynx
 carcass and hide pieces in various places,
 likely since it couldn’t eat the whole 20-to-
30-pound body in a single sitting.

“It might drag a leg up into a tree. It might
drag a leg into a brush pile or under the
 snow somewhere,” he says, adding that
they would also remove the heads sometimes.

Feline Revenge

There is evidence, though, that some lynx
were not passive prey items, McLellan says.
 “In some cases we found fisher hair stuck in
 the mouth of the dead lynx, so there was
obviously some effort on the lynx’s part to
defend itself,” he says. But he is unsure
whether lynx ever beat the fishers in
 these mortal battles, or whether they
 sometimes even prey on the weasels.

On the other hand, bobcats—close
relatives of lynx—turn the tables on the
 feisty fishers, according to research by
Greta Wengert, cofounder of the Integral
 Ecology Research Center, a non-profit
 organization dedicated to the research
 and conservation of wildlife and their
ecosystems.

“Pretty quickly it became evident that
bobcats were the main predators, at
 least on female fishers,” she says,
 adding that she and other researchers
 are focusing a lot of attention on
Western subspecies of fishers due to
ongoing research by the U.S. Fish
 & Wildlife Service into possibly
 listing those animals as endangered 
or threatened.

According to her, the western
 subspecies of fishers are often a little
 smaller than their eastern counterparts,
 which may be enough to tip the scales
 in favor of the felines. Bobcats are also
 a little smaller than lynx.

But once again, size can be deceiving.

“Bobcat and felid researchers weren’t
 completely surprised because [bobcats]
are known to be more aggressive—
more power pound for pound [than lynx],”
 Wengert says.

Worlds Apart

McLellan says that his team found
 about a dozen examples of fisher
predation on lynx in their four
 township area of Maine over the
roughly 12 years of study, and
suspected a few more cases. But
while these cats certainly meet a
grisly end, this interaction doesn’t
seem to have any negative population
 effects on the lynx, whose population
 has actually been growing over the
study period.

The newly discovered interaction
speaks to the fact that different animals
 have different ecological niches, and
 McLellan would like to learn more
about these interactions: “If I had my
 way, we’d be putting more collars on
 both fishers and lynx.”

He is unsure whether fishers take on
 other unruly predators besides lynx in
 the area, but he says it’s possible they
 might take out a creature like a coyote.

“If a fisher can get a hold of the neck of
an animal, they are willing to hold on
for dear life,” he says.