A fisher has been spotted on surveillance cameras at Cleveland Metroparks in Ohio, USA, marking the first time this medium-sized creature has been seen in over a century.
The footage was shared by Cleveland Metroparks on social media with the caption: “This is incredibly exciting!” These animals are native to North American forests and disappeared from Ohio in the mid-1800s. They are only found in Canada and the United States, with no recorded sightings in Britain or other parts of Europe.
Cleveland Metroparks announced that the Ohio Division of Wildlife confirmed this sighting as the first record in Cuyahoga County since the species vanished in the 1800s.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources lists them as ‘Species of Special Interest’, and the Ohio Division of Wildlife estimates that fishers disappeared from Ohio by the mid-1800s due to unregulated hunting and habitat loss.
Describing it as “tremendously exciting,” Cleveland Metroparks highlighted that this is another native Ohio mammal species, previously extirpated, to be documented in the park for the first time.
The reappearance of fishers and other previously extirpated species like otters, bobcats, and trumpeter swans is attributed to conservation efforts, underscoring the significance of maintaining healthy forests, wetlands, waterways, and natural areas in Cleveland Metroparks.
Despite being commonly referred to as “fisher cats,” these animals are not felines but belong to the weasel family.
According to Scenic Hudson, fishers are solitary creatures and, contrary to their name, they rarely consume fish. Their diet includes fruits, reptiles, amphibians, birds, bird eggs, mushrooms, squirrels, and other mammals.
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