Connecticut wildlife expert debunks myths about fishers

NORFOLK — A “fisher cat” is neither a cat nor the source of nighttime screeching sometimes heard in rural Connecticut.

Those were two takeaways from wildlife expert Ginny Apple’s talk at the Norfolk Hub Saturday, May 2, titled, “Fishers: Connecticut’s Stealth Hunter.”

Apple, a Master Wildlife Conservationist with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, frequently delivers presentations in Northwest Connecticut towns.

The fisher’s range runs from the Canadian Rockies to the Atlantic, in parts of Northern California, and in New England, Apple said. She estimates 100,000 exist today, a little under 100 in the state, and only half a dozen or so in northwest Connecticut.

Apple corrected common misconceptions, noting that a fisher is a member of the weasel family —not a cat.

The hair-raising screams people hear at night — often attributed to the non-existent “fisher cat” — are almost always from red foxes, Apple said.

The fisher is the rare Connecticut predator that will take on a porcupine, however.

Fishers are skilled and silent hunters and only let their guard down at night when they are relaxing in a tree.

“Then they make a little chortling sound, which you won’t hear unless you’re under the tree,” Apple said.

Pekania pennanti, the official name of the fisher cat, is the second largest weasel species in the state, next to the river otter.

Fishers can rotate their hind feet, which allows exceptional mobility in trees. Apple said they are just as nimble in trees as squirrels.

They are carnivorous omnivores, meaning they prefer meat and will go to considerable effort to find it.

Males can weigh up to 18 pounds and get to be between 35-47 inches long – including their tail. Females are roughly half the size.

Fishers live up to 12 years in ideal circumstances. This does not include Connecticut, Apple said.

“We’ve got a lot of roadkill and rodenticide poisoning,” she said.

On the latter, Apple said the use of rodenticide for rat and mouse control is troublesome because the poisoned rodents get eaten by predators – including fishers – who in turn get sick.

She urged attendees to use traditional snap mousetraps or “Hav-A-Hart” no-kill traps, which come in mouse dimensions.

DEEP is currently conducting a study of fishers using electronic collars to determine why they prefer the northeastern part of the state. Apple asked the audience to call DEEP at 860-424-3211 or email deepFisherSightings@ct.gov with any sightings or roadkill reports.