Porcupines Beware: The Fast-Footed Fisher is Coming Back
The fisher is about the size of a fox. Becasue it is a weasel, it is closely related to mink, skunks and river otters. It can turn its feet nearly 180 degrees, giving the fisher the ability to move adeptly among branches and to descend trees headfirst. It can spring as much as 9 feet from tree to tree, and may jump down from as high as twenty feet above the ground into the snow. The fisher is one of the few predators that can, and will, regularly kill porcupines for food.
Due to trapping and the extensive logging that destroyed its habitat, the fisher disappeared from Pennsylvania in the early 1900s. However, between 1994 and 1998, fishers were reintroduced at five sites in Pennsylvania including the Allegheny National Forest. Biologists are hopeful that this unique predator will expand its range.
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