A fisher was recently caught on surveillance cameras at Cleveland Metroparks in Ohio, United States, marking the first appearance of this medium-sized animal in over a hundred years.
The footage was shared on social media by Cleveland Metroparks, expressing great excitement. These creatures are native to North American forests and had disappeared from Ohio in the mid-1800s. They are exclusive to Canada and the United States, never being sighted in Britain or elsewhere in Europe.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife confirmed that this recent sighting in Cleveland Metroparks is the first on record in Cuyahoga County since the species vanished in the 1800s. Designated as ‘Species of Special Interest’ by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the fisher was believed to have been wiped out in Ohio by the mid-1800s due to unregulated hunting and habitat loss.
This unprecedented discovery is significant as it adds to the growing list of once-extinct native Ohio mammal species now found in Cleveland Metroparks. The reemergence of fishers, along with other previously extinct species like otters, bobcats, and trumpeter swans, underscores the success of conservation efforts and underscores the importance of maintaining healthy forests, wetlands, waterways, and natural areas within Cleveland Metroparks.
Although commonly referred to as “fisher cats,” these animals are not felines but rather members of the weasel family. Contrary to their name, fishers rarely consume fish. Their diet typically includes fruits, reptiles, amphibians, birds, bird eggs, mushrooms, squirrels, and various other mammals.