For the last two days an animal I can not identify has been hanging around our property.
It is black, about the size of a big cat (maybe 15 lbs.) and runs super-quick.
I don't think it's a fox, but I don't know what else it could be.
We live in rural Maryland and have deer, coyote, and fox around all the time. We once had a bear in our driveway. But, I have no idea what this creature is.
He is driving my dogs crazy! They are on edge and always on the look-out for this animal.
Any ideas what it could be? Posted by tcw (Member # 15698) on :
Kind of short legs and a long tail? Sounds like it may be a fisher cat. Fishers will eat poultry and maybe small cats and dogs, so if your dogs are small I would keep them indoors for now. Like other mammals they can get rabies as well.
On the other hand, fishers eat a lot of mice and since white footed mice are one of the primary reservoirs of Lyme maybe this is not a bad thing?
Posted by Leelee (Member # 19112) on :
Yes, that's what it has...short legs and a long tail.
Are they feral cats? I have never heard of them before.
At first I thought it was a large fluffy cat, but it was too big to be what I think of as a domestic cat. And it wasn't really a fox either.
I will google them and see what else I can learn.
Thank you very much for your answer.
Posted by Leelee (Member # 19112) on :
Hi again,tcw,
I just looked up Fisher Cats on Wikpedia and that is exactly what I have been seeing. It said they tend to be alone and that definitely fits the pattern I have seen too.
I can't thank you enough for telling me about these animals. I have never heard of them before and was afraid I was imagining things. Posted by tcw (Member # 15698) on :
For some reason there seems to be a big jump in the numbers of fishers in the NE US. Wildlife biologists in NY, PA and other states are seeing numbers that they have not seen in decades, and fishers are moving closer to human populations too.
When I was a kid, I spent most of my time in the woods or fields, and I do not remember ever seeing a fisher or tracks. Lots of raccoons, skunks, deer and even occasionally fox. Now for some reason in the last 10-15 years people are seeing more fishers, and I see more hawks than I ever remember and even large owls. I even saw a coyote running down the median of a highway not too long ago. When I was a kid I do not think there was any coyotes in NY that I knew of.
Posted by charlie (Member # 25) on :
....I just took a look at the pics...that doesn't look like anything you'd want to cuddle with unless you're comfortable with badgers and wolverines...
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Wow... never heard of them!
Posted by Leelee (Member # 19112) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lymetoo: Wow... never heard of them!
I know! Isn't that the craziest thing? Looks like I am on the cutting edge of a new wilderness sighting!
If tcw hadn't posted I never would have known either.
Fortunately my dogs are in the 40 lb. range and my cats always stay inside so we will all be safe.
Posted by just don (Member # 1129) on :
I looked it up because I didnt know what they were either. ONE line jumped out at me.
They are being reintroduced to the northeast states. Game officials are reintroducing LOTS of animals,with the ideas of they once roamed there.
They DENY deny deny doing this,but are most certainly are. Otherwise why are they microchiped and tracked??
Some of these animals are things you dont want to run into walking in the dark,let alone around small children.
Heard someplace they WANT to turn the great plains back to the days where the buffalo roamed with lions and tigers thrown in for people to see driving down the roads.
Great idea,but how to keep them out of people areas whe they are sick or hungry or worse yet,BOTH!!!
As for the fishers,,we have seen a resurgance of 'woodchucks' here. Never used to see them but they abound now. They look alot alike!!
Some areas call them groundhogs maybe,never looked those up YET!
Posted by charlie (Member # 25) on :
and of course around here we have to worry about the elusive chupacabra....
Posted by Leelee (Member # 19112) on :
Just don,
My husband and I just had this same discussion about the fisher cats being re-introduced.
I guess in theory it seems like a noble thing to do, but in the end, I fear they may become a nuisance like the deer and coyote.
Sometimes I wonder if it isn't best just to let nature and evolution take care of itself.
I hope I don't offend anyone with that statment. Just my thoughts..... Posted by Leelee (Member # 19112) on :
quote:Originally posted by charlie: and of course around here we have to worry about the elusive chupacabra....
What the heck? I've never heard of it. I'm off to google it. Posted by tcw (Member # 15698) on :
I do not see the fishers being too much of a problem, but we will have to see I guess. They are pretty much solitary predators and prefer forested areas, so I think that they are less likely to cause problems than raccoons or skunks, certainly less than coyotes or deer.
If nature taking care of itself includes human nature, fishers are in trouble. If humans leave them alone, they will probably be fine. Near me fishers, fox and beavers were once very abundant but they were trapped almost to extinction. Coyotes and wolves were driven out entirely.
Put a few animals back and protect them, and they seem to do OK, even near people. Is that a good thing? I am guess I am not sure - if I was a livestock farmer I would probably think not, but as it is now I enjoy seeing animals close by. I grew up in a more rural area than I live now, so I guess I am used to it.
Posted by Leelee (Member # 19112) on :
I'm with you, tcw. I like seeing the wildlife around too, but I wish I could train them to stay away from my property. I'd like to admire them from a further distance. LOL!
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