A fisher was recently spotted on surveillance cameras at Cleveland Metroparks in Ohio, USA, marking the first sighting of this medium-sized creature in over a century.
The footage was shared by Cleveland Metroparks on social media, expressing great excitement. These animals are native to North American forests and had disappeared from Ohio in the mid-1800s. They are exclusive to Canada and the United States and have never been sighted in Britain or elsewhere in Europe.
Cleveland Metroparks confirmed that the Ohio Division of Wildlife verified this sighting as the first record in Cuyahoga County since the species vanished in the 1800s. The fisher is listed as a ‘Species of Special Interest’ by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The Ohio Division of Wildlife estimates that fishers were eradicated in Ohio by the mid-1800s due to unregulated harvesting and habitat loss.
The return of fishers and other previously extinct species like otters, bobcats, and trumpeter swans to Cleveland Metroparks highlights the success of conservation efforts and underscores the importance of healthy forests, wetlands, waterways, and natural areas.
Although often referred to as “fisher cats,” these creatures are not felines but members of the weasel family. Contrary to their name, fishers seldom consume fish. Their diet mainly consists of fruit, reptiles, amphibians, birds, bird eggs, mushrooms, squirrels, and other mammals.