Fisher Cat??

Hillcountry · 01-22-2020, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Hill;

The only thing that is throwing me is if you look at the video around the 29 second mark, the tail is dragging on the ground and seems way to wide and long to be a house cat...

Dan, after looking again and stopping and starting the vid, I have changed my mind...the tail is surely dragging. Definitely a wild critter but I still don’t think it’s a Fisher...mink or otter or be my new guess!

ishoot308 · 01-22-2020, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

Dan, after looking again and stopping and starting the vid, I have changed my mind...the tail is surely dragging. Definitely a wild critter but I still don’t think it’s a Fisher...mink or otter or be my new guess!

I’m starting to lean towards a mink myself now....a really big well fed mink!!!

Hillcountry · 01-22-2020, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swnoel

You people are joking...right?? It's a fisher!

Ahhh the almighty woodswise elf has spoken!

Tapered tail gives me the opposite impression.

Slickcraft · 01-22-2020, 01:43 PM

Mink, there are several that live along that shore.

ApS · 01-22-2020, 02:44 PM

Fisher-cats have large hindquarters, and long and furry rear feet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slickcraft

Mink, there are several that live along that shore.

Mink are small creatures: They're nearly chipmunk-sized!

This critter is nearly as long as the dock is wide. How many estimated feet is that critter covering of your dock width, 308?

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmantiDelLago

My guess is a mink. They love the rocky shore. Definitely not a house cat. A house cat wouldn’t survive on the island, either starve or eaten.

The ice is "in"; could've strolled over, looking for mice.

ishoot308 · 01-22-2020, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApS

Mink are small creatures: They're nearly chipmunk-sized!

This critter is nearly as long as the dock is wide. How wide is that dock, 308?

Guessing 48" wide...

ishoot308 · 01-22-2020, 03:05 PM

Here is a definite mink taken with the same camera just a couple weeks ago. Much smaller as APS said... I'm going back to my original thought...Fisher!

This little bugger was sneaking drinks at the tiki bar!!

https://video.nest.com/clip/b4cc4288...c09b101769.mp4

Dan

Hillcountry · 01-22-2020, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Here is a definite mink taken with the same camera just a couple weeks ago. Much smaller as APS said... I'm going back to my original thought...Fisher!

This little bugger was sneaking drinks at the tiki bar!!

https://video.nest.com/clip/b4cc4288...c09b101769.mp4

Dan

Upon further study (the date stamp hinders my view exactly where the animal is moving around) it is definitely a Fisher!
Maybe if I watch the video from my PC the date stamp won’t be right where the animal is. I have been watching from my phone so I think it changes the video “window”

greeleyhill · 01-22-2020, 09:41 PM

I believe the first video shows an otter. Their tails are made for swimming and believe me, they are quite good at it. The second video is a different animal - that one is a mink. Check out the differences in the tail (one dragging on the ground the other up in the air) and the sizes are definitely different. I've seen mink on our rocky shoreline on Paugus Bay several time, right along the rocks and near the water and we had an otter in our pond last year so I got several good looks at that one. Granted - i'm not an expert but i've seen both in the wild and i'm 99% sure one is an otter, the other a mink.

greeleyhill · 01-22-2020, 09:50 PM

https://www.heraldnews.com/article/2...orts/160139705

ApS · 01-23-2020, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greeleyhill

This is a fisher.

Remarkable for its size!

-------------------

By the process of elimination:

Mink...No. Video critter is much too large.
House Cat...Unlikely. Tail held wrong, remote island.
Weasel...No. Not skinny or "slinky" enough--colors wrong.
Otter...No. Hindquarters are huge in otters, tail is strongly tapered and smooth. Video shows fluffy, cat-like tail.

Like upthesauke, I've seen only one Fisher, and it was in daylight. Video "moves" are consistent with Fisher.

Slickcraft · 01-23-2020, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greeleyhill

https://www.heraldnews.com/article/2...orts/160139705

I have seen two fishers in the wild, both about 2/3 the size of the very large one in the photo. One while was walking crossed a woods road about 20' in front and stopped for a brief look at me. The other bonded across a road in front of my vehicle at night. IMHO the critter in the original video is just too small to be an adult fisher.

Hillcountry · 01-23-2020, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slickcraft

I have seen two fishers in the wild, both about 2/3 the size of the very large one in the photo. One while was walking crossed a woods road about 20' in front and stopped for a brief look at me. The other bonded across a road in front of my vehicle at night. IMHO the critter in the original video is just too small to be an adult fisher.

Could be a young of the year fisher...

Barney Bear · 01-23-2020, 09:01 AM

Looks like fishers that we have seen in our area in southern NH. Friends of ours on Welch Island have seen fishers on their property there. 🐻

Hillcountry · 01-23-2020, 10:00 AM

Oh yeah...viewed it on my large PC screen and can see clearly the head and ears are of a Fisher! Probably looking for that mink to gobble up!
My brother witnessed a chase between a fisher and a red squirrel from his tree stand while deer hunting...his account of the chase was amazing in that the fisher was right on the ass of the squirrel for the whole chase up and down trees and jumping from one tree to another. Lasted quite a while before they disappeared out of sight...

radar4401 · 01-23-2020, 10:14 AM

Has anybody considered a martin? I looked in a Field Guide to the Mammals and it looks more like a martin including their description of color and shape of its tail. The size or shading doesn't match the video of the mink shown in a later video.

ApS · 01-23-2020, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

Oh yeah...viewed it on my large PC screen and can see clearly the head and ears are of a Fisher! Probably looking for that mink to gobble up! My brother witnessed a chase between a fisher and a red squirrel from his tree stand while deer hunting...his account of the chase was amazing in that the fisher was right on the ass of the squirrel for the whole chase up and down trees and jumping from one tree to another. Lasted quite a while before they disappeared out of sight...

YouTube has a similar chase with a grey squirrel. I found myself cheering for the squirrel

; unfortunately, the squirrel lost the chase!

The Marten would be a good match. It's a weasel listed with NH F&G at their web page; however, it would appear to be out of both its geographic- and elevation- range.

Still, I wouldn't rule it out.

Not sure why the Marten picture won't appear...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File...arten_area.png

01-22-2020, 03:05 PM	#7
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 6,287 Thanks: 2,402 Thanked 5,300 Times in 2,064 Posts	Here is a definite mink taken with the same camera just a couple weeks ago. Much smaller as APS said... I'm going back to my original thought...Fisher! This little bugger was sneaking drinks at the tiki bar!! https://video.nest.com/clip/b4cc4288...c09b101769.mp4 Dan __________________ It's Always Sunny On Welch Island!!

01-22-2020, 09:41 PM	#9
greeleyhill Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 94 Thanks: 57 Thanked 22 Times in 11 Posts	Definitely not a Fisher I believe the first video shows an otter. Their tails are made for swimming and believe me, they are quite good at it. The second video is a different animal - that one is a mink. Check out the differences in the tail (one dragging on the ground the other up in the air) and the sizes are definitely different. I've seen mink on our rocky shoreline on Paugus Bay several time, right along the rocks and near the water and we had an otter in our pond last year so I got several good looks at that one. Granted - i'm not an expert but i've seen both in the wild and i'm 99% sure one is an otter, the other a mink.

01-22-2020, 09:50 PM	#10
greeleyhill Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 94 Thanks: 57 Thanked 22 Times in 11 Posts	This is a Fisher https://www.heraldnews.com/article/2...orts/160139705 Attached Images

01-23-2020, 09:01 AM	#14
Barney Bear Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 962 Thanks: 495 Thanked 273 Times in 174 Posts	Oh, Go Fisher! Looks like fishers that we have seen in our area in southern NH. Friends of ours on Welch Island have seen fishers on their property there. 🐻

01-23-2020, 10:14 AM	#16
radar4401 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 59 Thanks: 2 Thanked 12 Times in 6 Posts	Fisher Cat? Has anybody considered a martin? I looked in a Field Guide to the Mammals and it looks more like a martin including their description of color and shape of its tail. The size or shading doesn't match the video of the mink shown in a later video.

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ishoot308 (01-22-2020)

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01-22-2020, 01:43 PM	#4
Slickcraft Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Welch Island and The Taylor Community Posts: 3,310 Thanks: 1,228 Thanked 2,098 Times in 957 Posts	Mink, there are several that live along that shore.

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Hillcountry (01-23-2020)

01-23-2020, 10:00 AM	#15
Hillcountry Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: In the hills Posts: 2,420 Thanks: 1,677 Thanked 786 Times in 466 Posts	Oh yeah...viewed it on my large PC screen and can see clearly the head and ears are of a Fisher! Probably looking for that mink to gobble up! My brother witnessed a chase between a fisher and a red squirrel from his tree stand while deer hunting...his account of the chase was amazing in that the fisher was right on the ass of the squirrel for the whole chase up and down trees and jumping from one tree to another. Lasted quite a while before they disappeared out of sight...

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garysanfran (01-23-2020)