Rare Vistor Pays a Call

I stumbled-upon a technological hiccup with a recent upload of photos from our Snapshot Wisconsin (DNR) trail camera.  It would appear that back in February a routine upload to the cloud network failed to send all of the photos.  Last weekend that SD card found it's way back into the upload rotation and sure as shooting a big slug of photos from January and February showed-up.  Good thing because this infrared gem was in the collection......

click on image to enlarge

I captured my very first picture of one of these in February of 2019.  Again in March and October of last year.  And the end of January this year.  Woot Woot!   

This is Martes pennanti - the Fisher.  One of the larger members of the weasel family - only the river otter is bigger.    

Characterized by a soft and supple pelt this highly-prized furbearer was oft referred-to as the American Sable.  Once widely distributed across Wisconsin - the great cutover of our northern forests and unregulated trapping eventually led to the extirpation of this species.  Only very small remnant populations retreating to the northern-most reaches of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Nevertheless, the species persists as a consequence of reintroduction efforts and reforestation of marginal farmland.  Four photos over three consecutive years is not happenstance and it would appear that southern Door County is now part of an expanding range. 

These are habitually solitary animals and while a pregnant female will den-up for a period of time - males are always on the prowl with a typical boy requiring as much as 150 square miles of territory.  March and April is mating season for the fisher and is characterized by a reproductive curiosity featuring a delayed implantation period of 10 to 11 months.  Possibly stimulated by longer daylight - the blastocyst (the earliest stage of the embryo) is then implanted in the uterus.  Gestation is 6 weeks followed by the birth of three to four kits.  Since mom is capable of mating immediately afterwards females spend virtually all of their adult lives either pregnant or lactating.  By the end of summer the young will leave the den and disperse to establish their own territories.  Males contribute nothing to the raising of the young.

Another fun fact is that this critter is an accomplished swimmer and quite comfortable in the water.  You're probably thinking - how many fish can a fisher fish?  The answer is none.  The fisher does not fish.  Their smaller mink cousins are better fishermen than the fisher.  An opportunistic feeder this animal will dine on mice, voles, dead fish, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons and an occasional house cat.  Seasonally they'll help themselves to reptiles, amphibians, nuts, berries, eggs and fruit.  Equipped with cat-like retractable claws this is one of the few predators that will take-down a porcupine with little to no ill-effect. 

I'm positively tickled to capture another photo with an ever-patient, motion-activated woodland sentinel.

Raising a toast to big weasels and second-rate fishermen....

Look Who Showed-up on the Trail Camera

Not having previously spotted one of these my initial reaction was - whoa!  This has got to be the mother of all weasels. Thumbing thru a field guide of Wisconsin mammals I had a tentative ID in relatively short order yet was unsure.  These weasels are not at all common around these parts.  I figured I better seek a second professional opinion to be sure of the identification of this rare critter.  Both a UW and DNR biologist concurred on the identification.  This was an exciting first for me and I got to check another species off of my life list. 

click on image for a closer look

 

Meet Martes pennanti - the Fisher.  One of the larger members of the weasel family - this mammal was once widely distributed across Wisconsin.  Characterized by a soft and supple pelt this highly-valued furbearer was oft referred-to as the American Sable.  Unregulated trapping and deforestation eventually led to the extirpation of this species with remnant populations retreating to the northern-most reaches of our state and Minnesota.  Nevertheless, the species persists as a consequence of reintroduction efforts and making a come-back would appear to also make Door County part of its range. 

Pregnant females will den-up for a period of time while males are always on the prowl with a typical boy requiring up to 150 square miles of territory.  Equipped with retractable claws (just like a cat) this is one of the few predators that will prey-upon a porcupine with little or no ill-effect.  It will also dine on small mammals such as mice, voles, squirrels, rabbits as well as nuts, berries, eggs and fruit.

This is the mating season of the fisher and females give birth to three to four kits in the spring.  By the end of summer the young will leave the den and mom's care and disperse to establish their own territories.

Incidentally, the fisher is a strong swimmer but it does not fish.  Mink are better fishermen than the fisher.  That-aside, I'd still like to raise a toast to weasels.   They are survivors after-all....