Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: Marc St Louis on April 03, 2017, 12:57:01 pm
-
We had a visitor this morning, something you don't see every day. My wife spotted him first feeding on something. Unfortunately all I could do was take a picture through the window as going outside would have spooked him and he was also a fair distance away.
-
A shark in the snow? No you don't see that every day..lol
-
Can't quite tell what he is Marc. Wolverine? Bear? He's not a (B)
Bjrogg
-
The title of the picture says it all, Fisher. He was a good size animal, at least 3' long
-
Guess I never heard them called that and we don't have any of those visitors around here. You sure have a nice back yard Marc.
Bjrogg
-
Guess I never heard them called that and we don't have any of those visitors around here. You sure have a nice back yard Marc.
Bjrogg
I don't know how far south the Fisher's range extends. They are an interesting animal, saw a full size adult at 20' a few years ago. They are an incredible animal. Like a Wolverine they have huge paws for their size, they are also related.
I am not into manicured yards and lawns. My front yard between the road and my house is comprised of trees, I like my privacy
-
A little larger then a pine martin?All in the weasel family I assume.
-
I've seen them here in sw pa.
-
They get way bigger than a Pine Marten. This guy was about 3' long from tail to nose but the one I saw close up a few years ago was close to 4' long
-
We've got them just south of Lake Ontario. I was trout fishing in a deep creek once (catching nothing) when all of a sudden one came flying down the side of the bank, dove into the water, came up with a 12"+ trout, and zoomed back up into a hole. (A)
I've got mink in my backyard as well.
-
We got them in NW PA. Saw two this year deer hunting actually. I've been seeing them up in NY for about a decade. Our game commission in PA helped to re-introduce them here. Turkey numbers have been on the decline since. I guess they go right up the trees and get them in the roost.
I never understood the re-introduction rationale. Sure they used to be here, but the ecosystems have already adjusted to their absence. Now everything will get screwy until it re-adjusts again. Sometimes we should just leave well enough alone. Trying to fix the mistakes of the past can be just as detrimental as the original mistake, where nature is concerned anyway. Nature is a wonderfully self regulating living breathing system. She can pretty much take care of her self, with the exception of extreme cases of pollution of course. If she wanted fishers back in PA she would have got them here eventually.
Set a few traps for them this year but no luck. It's a short two week season and you can only take one. Maybe next year. There are still turkeys at that spot so I'm guessing the fisher population there isn't very high. I may think differently after spring gobbler however.
-
We got them in NW PA. Saw two this year deer hunting actually. I've been seeing them up in NY for about a decade. Our game commission in PA helped to re-introduce them here. Turkey numbers have been on the decline since. I guess they go right up the trees and get them in the roost.
I never understood the re-introduction rationale. Sure they used to be here, but the ecosystems have already adjusted to their absence. Now everything will get screwy until it re-adjusts again. Sometimes we should just leave well enough alone. Trying to fix the mistakes of the past can be just as detrimental as the original mistake, where nature is concerned anyway. Nature is a wonderfully self regulating living breathing system. She can pretty much take care of her self, with the exception of extreme cases of pollution of course. If she wanted fishers back in PA she would have got them here eventually.
Set a few traps for them this year but no luck. It's a short two week season and you can only take one. Maybe next year. There are still turkeys at that spot so I'm guessing the fisher population there isn't very high. I may think differently after spring gobbler however.
The problem is that nature does try to re-adjust but humans keep interfering. They see something they don't like and "blam" it's gone.
I remember my grandmother telling me a few times that when she was a young the Ministry of Natural Resources "tried" to re-introduced Beavers around here, they had been trapped out of existence. The locals didn't understand why they were dumping these strange animals here that flooded fields with their dams so they killed them all :-M
-
The locals didn't understand why they were dumping these strange animals here
or "reintroducing" wolves to the neighborhood?
-
The locals didn't understand why they were dumping these strange animals here
or "reintroducing" wolves to the neighborhood?
Well that has never been a problem here, they never "left". Coyotes on the other hand have become a real nuisance up here and they are definitely not native to this area.
I have no problems with any "native" predator but I do believe that their numbers must be controlled
-
I can just picture an old frontiersman brought into the future exclaiming, "Let me get this straight... You brought the wolves back!!!! ON PURPOSE!!! You realize it took us almost 100 yrs to get rid of them.".
-
I can just picture an old frontiersman brought into the future exclaiming, "Let me get this straight... You brought the wolves back!!!! ON PURPOSE!!! You realize it took us almost 100 yrs to get rid of them.".
Are these the same frontiersmen that exterminated the Passenger Pigeon? :D
-
More than likely, yes. ;)
You should probably add heath hen, carolina parakeet, eastern elk, sea mink, blue pike, and jumbo herring to that list as well. :o (A)
-
We've got mink here yet and a few different types of weasels.The mink maybe get as big as your pine martin.Climb tress etc. too.Eyes are red at night.I suppose our otter are as big as your fisher.
-
More than likely, yes. ;)
You should probably add heath hen, carolina parakeet, eastern elk, sea mink, blue pike, and jumbo herring to that list as well. :o (A)
Yes and more. I was actually going to add "some native tribes" but I didn't think it appropriate ::)
Otter are about the same size as a Fisher, not quite as ferocious though. Supposedly the Snowshoe Hare is a Fisher's preferred food source. It is also said that seeing a Fisher is a sign that the ecosystem is in good health. They may be a bit hard on the small game animals but I still love to see them. I would rather they not hunt around the house but like everything else they have a right to survive
-
That Fisher will help with the Red Squirrel population also Marc . Bob
-
Marc..Yes they have a living right to exist that's for sure the way I see it.That's why I don't get too upset when coyotes get onto a deer I've shot with my self bow the next day.
With that being said yet after being called to remove skunks and ground hogs from underneath peoples homes.In the end they are all opportunists taking advantage of what they can to survive as easy as they can.Can't blame them.
It's when they dent into peoples pocket book the extermination syndrome starts.Hard to change that for people.
Out coon hunting once an otter got in the way[or we got in her way] away from the river while my hound was trailing a coon.Quite a battle incured.An otter is as nasty as they come.That happened a couple of times with a badger too.They are just as nasty.
Are'nt all these critters in the weasel family?I think so.Lucky no wolverines are natural around here.Another double tough hombre.
-
Marten and Weasel are more apt to hunt Squirrels up here. I've seen Weasels up in trees before hunting, heck I've even seen Mink up in trees. Even though we are supposed to have Marten up I've never seen one although I know people that have seen them.
All members of the Weasel family
-
There a kid on you tube that trains mink to hunt muskrats and barn rats for him. Very interesting. He had on buck trained and wanted another. He went to a mink farm and told the guy he wanted the meanest buck mink he had. As JW said the kid was bat crap crazy. So was the mink.
Bjrogg