Today’s contributed video proves you don’t have to live in far-flung areas of Maine to have the chance to see some of the state’s most interesting wildlife.
April Thibodeau was kind enough to send in this footage of a fisher spotted in March behind her home in Glenburn.
“My cat was watching something intensely so it caught my eye and I recorded it right from our home window,” Thibodeau said. “I was impressed that it was out so long as it seems [they] are rarely seen.”
The fisher is shown scampering about and appears to be surveying the ground and some of the trees in Thibodeau’s backyard. She was surprised how playful the animal appeared to be.
Shevenell Webb, Furbearer Biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, was pleased to get a look at the fisher video. She called it one of her favorite wildlife species, having studied it from Maine to California and in western Canada.
“Fisher are in the weasel (mustelid) family and are typically 10-20 pounds. They are abundant and occur throughout the forests of Maine,” Webb said.
She explained that fishers are adept at climbing trees and are active all year long.
“They are very curious, have a good nose, and are always on the move,” Webb said.
Fishers, which are sometimes called fisher cats, have a diverse diet and aren’t afraid to take on some prickly situations to get a meal.
“Fisher are one of the few predators of porcupines,” Webb said, “and they also eat snowshoe hare, squirrels, small mammals, nuts and berries.”
Contrary to their name, fishers typically neither eat fish nor swim. Webb said their name probably was derived from their resemblance to a European polecat, sometimes called “fichet” or “fitche.”
Thibodeau said the fisher in the video is the only one she has seen since her family moved into their home in 2004. They do get a glimpse of turkeys and deer and have twice seen a bear in the yard.
Thank you for the video, April!
Do you have a trail camera photo or video to share? Send it to outdoors@bangordailynews.com and tell us, “I consent to the BDN using my photo.” Some contributor identities and towns of origin may be omitted. I
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