Living in the woodsy parts of Maine, you've heard of fisher cats and, maybe even, have heard fisher cats, but, what are fishers?

I've been seeing a lot of mentions about fishers on Facebook lately from the Bangor region and wanted to take a look into this elusive and ferocious rodent that chills in the Maine woods.

And hearing this animal may even give you the chills because the sound is an alarming screeching sound, that may even be characterized as a scream.  Yikes!

Taking a look at a fish and game website, the Fisher, or locally known as fisher cats, are not cats but are a part of the rodent family.  They are more closely related to weasels, otters and martins.

The fisher is found in northern New England as well as other northern parts of Northern America where snow cover happens and temperatures run cooler than the southern part of Northern America, including Alaska and Minnesota.

They eat small animals including hares, porcupine, mice, squirrels and basically anything they come across.  I think this is why this animal has become a topic of conversation around here because there has also been some speculation of missing pets in the area due to this creature.

They mate between March and April and give birth a year later.  And, if you want to try to see this animal in the woods look for their den's by looking for holes in trees about 20 feet above the base of tree trunk.

When do they come out?  They are active during the nighttime and can be seen at dusk, overnight and dawn so be sure to keep your pets inside at night to avoid a fisher getting them.

Here's a clip from North Wood Laws to see the animal in action.

And another of a fisher getting a squirrel in Massachusetts:

For more information about the fisher, check out where I got my information, the New Hampshire Fish and Game website.

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