OT: Just saw one of these bad boys this morning

[William]

..on our property.:eek:

http://blog.ctnews.com/dennis/files/2010/12/fisher7.jpg

We were standing at the end of our driveway waiting for the school bus with our children when we spotted one coming up from the pond on the edge of our property. It was a about 50 feet or so away from us when it spotted us and stopped. It stood there and stared at us for a few seconds, and then went back the way it came. We have heard them many times in the woods on our property, but this was the first time we’ve actually seen one. It always sounds like something is being murdered when we hear it. After looking at pictures, it was definitely a Fisher Cat and it was bigger than Rhea Basset Hound.







William

[christian]

Interesting. Fishers tend to be very very shy, so pretty cool to spot one. Anecdotally, sightings in the suburbs seem to be on the rist though - must be another sign of population rebound.

I hope you don't have ducks or chickens!

[rugbysecondrow]

Looks like a big ferret

Cool sighting.

[christian]

Depending on where in RI you are, that may be one of the most southerly sightings of a fisher. Mustelidae are really cool.

[William]

A couple of years ago a six year old was attacked by one at a bus stop in Hopkinton, RI which is SE from where we live.



Kid walking to bus stop attacked by a fisher cat

Fisher Cat Attack – Department of Environmental Management Officials are searching for a fisher cat that attacked a 6-year-old boy on Karen Drive in Hopkinton, Rhode Island on Monday June 22, 2009.

Police say the boy was waiting for the bus with his mother and other kids, when the 20-to-25 pound animal appeared. The mother told the animal attacked when the group started walking away.

The mother kicked the animal off her son, and another child threw a backpack at the fisher cat. A neighbor eventually chased the fisher cat away.

The boy was taken to Westerly Hospital, and treated for bites on his leg. Fisher cats are relatives of the weasel. They tend to be nocturnal, and often prey on smaller animals like chipmunks and squirrels.

Very cool animals but I'm glad we were out there with our children when it showed up.





William

[Tom]

Keep an eye on your house cats.

Fishers think they're delicious.

[Charles M]

Something was being murdered every time you heard it...

[William]

One of our neighbors claims a Fisher cat took down a small deer on his property.:confused:





William

[tele]

we have those out here in Western Mass and they are nasty little buggers. Whenever we hear one we make sure all the animals are locked up. They do sound like a child is being killed :eek:

[oldpotatoe]

Keep an eye on your house cats.

Fishers think they're delicious.

'house' cats'..mine stay inside. Too many raccoons, possoms and foxes around. I see 'lost cat' signs on light poles around my neighborhood all the time..

[redir]

Beautiful animal and yes very very eerie moaning they make.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Looks like a big ferret

Cool sighting.

. . . with BIG teeth and BIG claws and BIG appetite! :eek:

Kinda like William on a group ride . . . :p

BBD

[Jaq]

Being from Los Angeles, I can assure you that with enough bulldozers and concrete, you can pretty much b--ch slap the whole icky "nature" thing into the next state.

[soulspinner]

Related to Wolverines?

[sc53]

Beautiful animal. I've never heard of a Fisher Cat, thought it was a wolverine.

[christian]

Wolverine > Badger > Fisher > Marten > Mink > Weasel

Rough sizes of mustelidae.

[firerescuefin]

Wolverine > Badger > Fisher > Marten > Mink > Weasel

Rough sizes of mustelidae.

Think that should be the new hirearchy of the forum (goes under your name)....with post quality and quantity thresholds determining whether you're a Weasel...or other....and demotions back to weasel are always a possibility. William's a mod now...let's make this happen;)

[Elefantino]

It looks like a chupacabra.

[GuyGadois]

No match for the honey badger

[fmbp]

Think that should be the new hirearchy of the forum (goes under your name)....with post quality and quantity thresholds determining whether you're a Weasel...or other....and demotions back to weasel are always a possibility. William's a mod now...let's make this happen;)

if this is the case, I'm probably well below weasel. Sumpin' like a vole, maybe? Gopher?

[Aaron O]

Related to Wolverines?

I think they're both related to weasels.

I've heard stories of those things tearing through screens to open windows to get at pets.

[William]

. . . with BIG teeth and BIG claws and BIG appetite! :eek:

Kinda like William on a group ride . . . :p

BBD


You know me too well BBDave.;)



William The Electric Weasel.
http://sweasel.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/electricweasel.gif

[Karin Kirk]

Cool stuff! I am also a fan of the mustelids. I have never seen a wolverine but I would really love to come across one some day. We had a badger in our yard for a few days when this neighborhood was not very built up yet. He was so badazz, it was really fun to watch him.

I also had a truly special encounter with a pair of pine martin kits when I was deep in the backcountry and I bet they had never seen a person before. They were chattering to each other so excitedly and they came right over to me, which was both amazing and intimidating!

I've only seen a fisher once, from quite a distance. Didn't get much of an impression.

Weasels are common here and we see them in their winter form, ermine, quite often while skiing. Even these cute little guys are rather serious predators.

Nice sighting William - thanks for sharing!

[merlinmurph]

I've seen only two Fishers, both road kill in my area west of Boston, and they were both pretty small. People are seeing more and more of them around here. I mean, you never even heard people talk about them, and now people will mention that they saw one. I'd love to see one myself.

[cnighbor1]

Once on TV I saw a photos of 50 rabbits killed by a wolverine (a member of the fisher, ferret family) he just bit their hits off and left them their. he wasn't hungry. Mean animals! Stay away. Saw a Wolverine once hiking. a very mean animal. also their range is over 400 miles. I saw on TV them going over 10,000 mountain ranges in very deep snow Looking for dead carass
Woow think of effort that is.

[William]

I've seen only two Fishers, both road kill in my area west of Boston, and they were both pretty small. People are seeing more and more of them around here. I mean, you never even heard people talk about them, and now people will mention that they saw one. I'd love to see one myself.

From what I'm gathering the one we saw was a big boy!:cool:



William

[William]

Once on TV I saw a photos of 50 rabbits killed by a wolverine (a member of the fisher, ferret family) he just bit their hits off and left them their. he wasn't hungry. Mean animals! Stay away. Saw a Wolverine once hiking. a very mean animal. also their range is over 400 miles. I saw on TV them going over 10,000 mountain ranges in very deep snow Looking for dead carass
Woow think of effort that is.

I saw that show on Netflix. Very interesting and ferocious animal.




William

[Aaron O]

Once on TV I saw a photos of 50 rabbits killed by a wolverine (a member of the fisher, ferret family) he just bit their hits off and left them their. he wasn't hungry. Mean animals! Stay away. Saw a Wolverine once hiking. a very mean animal. also their range is over 400 miles. I saw on TV them going over 10,000 mountain ranges in very deep snow Looking for dead carass
Woow think of effort that is.

I once saw a Wolverine rip the head off of a giant robot! It was a cartoon...but they're VICIOUS!

[William]

I once saw a Wolverine rip the head off of a giant robot! It was a cartoon...but they're VICIOUS!

Good one!:D You are now officially at Badger status!!;)





William

[mistermo]

Yes, these Fisher cats can be mean. Though not as ferocious, a couple weeks ago we had these critters in the back yard. They wandered around in a big huddle. It looked like Mama was teaching the young 'uns to find food. They weren't afraid of me at all.

[mistermo]

...pics

[redir]

I like skunks too but I've never met one from the wrong end before either.

[gdw]

"Once on TV I saw a photos of 50 rabbits killed by a wolverine (a member of the fisher, ferret family) he just bit their hits off and left them"

It was staged. In the real world white rabbits would have kicked its butt. I saw a movie where one rabbit defeated and drove off a brand of heavily armed men with ease....a wolverine wouldn't stand a chance.

[Karin Kirk]

Mistermo, those skunks are super cute! Their faces are a lot like their cousins the badgers. I bet they were fun to watch (from a safe distance).

[HenryA]

The skunks are cute but keep in mind that they are a -major- vector of rabies. Be extra extra careful if you see skunks in the daytime. They are typically nocturnal.

[William]

Yikes, another Fisher Cat attack here in RI...


Fisher cat bites woman in Lincoln

LINCOLN, R.I. --

http://www2.turnto10.com/news/2012/oct/01/fisher-cat-bites-woman-lincoln-ar-1190984/

A Lincoln woman has been hospitalized for days after being attacked and bitten by a fisher while walking her dog in her yard.

Tracey Chartier was attacked Wednesday by the animal, which is related to a weasel. It's sometimes referred to as a fisher cat.

Chartier tells The Providence Journal she at first thought it was a raccoon. She says animal tried to go after her 110-pound Weimaraner.

She was in bare feet and kicked it, and tells the paper that the animal bit, scratched and mangled her feet....







William

[christian]

"A fisher attacked my Weimaraner?" Yeah, I believe that. More like, "I'm an idiot who doesn't leash my dog and he chased after some wildlife and was remarkably surprised when the wildlife fought back."