What members of the mustelid family the weasels are is uncompromisingly aggressive, which is why they are such efficient and successful hunters, from the wolverine to the fisher and marten to the ermine and weasel.
I also believe they get blamed for acts which they are not responsible for. Great horned owls, for example, have smaller territories than fishers and are probably much more likely to take your cat. The ancestors of fishers appear in North America between two and a half to five million years ago. Individual remains from , years ago, show no significant anatomical differences from modern day fishers.
Fishers are meso predators who defend and scent mark territories of about three square miles in summer, and five in winter. They prefer mature conifer forests with good cover, large trees and fallen logs with hollows for denning. Fishers may also den under bushes or in crevices. Fisher territories often overlap, and like cats, are frequently patrolled using shared, common routes.
Male fishers have slightly larger territories, which overlap female territories, making it easier to find females for mating. Fishers are seasonally brown to dark brown to mottled in summer, with moulting between summer and winter. Male fishers average three to four feet long, and can reach 8 to 13 pounds, females about half that.
Fishers have small round ears to prevent heat loss, and broad, blackish five-toed feet featuring retractable claws, which act as snowshoes. Their ankles have a rotating capability of degrees, which makes them very nimble in trees, even allowing them to run down trees head first. Their rear foot pads have a central scent gland, which may assist in marking territories, and in finding other fishers during mating season.
