iStockphoto / 3quarks / Dave Jonasen
In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, nature is healing. Somewhat.
For the first time since the 1800s when fishers (Pekania pennanti) were extirpated one has been spotted in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Fishers are relatives of weasels, minks, martens, and otters, and were all but eradicated from the Cleveland area in the 1800s but a nature camera picked one up recently.
First Fisher Spotted In Cuyahoga County, Ohio Since 1800s
Cleveland Metro Parks shared news of this incredible comeback story earlier in the week on Instagram. In their announcement, they wrote this “is the first record in Cuyahoga County since the species originally disappeared in the 1800s.”
They go on to say that it is “estimated that the fisher was extirpated in Ohio by the mid-1800s and the major causes were unregulated harvest and loss of habitat.” A fancy way of saying fishers did not disappear from Cuyahoga County, Ohio due to natural causes.
Conservation efforts have brought back other extirpated species to Cuyahoga County / Cleveland parks including otters, bobcats, and trumpeter swans. This marks another return of a species that is native to the land.
Fishers primarily eat mice, birds, and squirrels. They are opportunistic hunters. And their return also speaks well to thriving animal populations all across the food chain.
They typically live up to 10 years in the wild. Males spread out further than females and young fishers remain with mom until 1 year of age when they branch out on their own in the wild. They really are beautiful creatures.
They typically have a characteristic white patch on their chest with brown to black-colored fur, a bushy tail, tiny ears, and a pointy snout. Fishers are most common in the Northeastern United States (New York, New England) but can also be found in the Upper Great Lakes region. So keep your eyes peeled around Cleveland’s parks in hopes of catching sight of one!