A fisher has been caught on camera at Cleveland Metroparks in Ohio, United States, marking its first sighting in over a hundred years. The footage was shared on social media by Cleveland Metroparks, expressing great excitement. These creatures are native to North American forests and disappeared from Ohio in the mid-1800s, never having been seen in Britain or other parts of Europe, existing only in Canada and the United States.
Cleveland Metroparks confirmed that the Ohio Division of Wildlife verified this sighting as the first on record in Cuyahoga County since the species vanished in the 1800s. The fisher is classified as a ‘Species of Special Interest’ by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and was likely wiped out in Ohio by the mid-1800s due to unregulated hunting and habitat loss.
The return of fishers and other species like otters, bobcats, and trumpeter swans highlights the success of conservation efforts and underscores the significance of preserving healthy forests, wetlands, waterways, and natural areas in Cleveland Metroparks. Despite often being called “fisher cats,” they are not felines but members of the weasel family.
According to Scenic Hudson, fishers are solitary animals that mainly consume fruit, reptiles, amphibians, birds, bird eggs, mushrooms, squirrels, and other mammals, with fish rarely being part of their diet.