Index

Phylogeny

• Range Maps

  North America	Great Smokies

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Linzey and Linzey (1968) discussed the possible presence of the fisher in the park:
  It is uncertain whether the fisher ever occurred in the area encompassed by the Park. Miller and Kellogg (1955) noted that this animal was found as far south as North Carolina. This range was extended by Parmalee (1960), who found the jawbone of a fisher in Bartow County, Georgia. Audubon and Bachman (1846) stated: "We have seen several skins procured in east Tennessee..." During a journey of several hundred miles through the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina during the summer of 1887, Merriam ( 1888) found no trace of the fisher, which he refers to as the "Pekan."

  The fisher was successfully restocked in West Virginia in 1969. The animals are reproducing and several have been observed in western Virginia. The possibilty of reintroducing the fisher to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been discussed. After examining various aspects of the animal's biology and its potential effects on other species, the decision was made not to proced at the present time.

Index

Natural History

• Reproduction
  Breeding usually occurs in early spring a few days after parturition. Following a gestation of approximately 353 days, a litter of one to five (average three) young are born. Within a week the female has mated again. The extremely long gestation is accounted for by the fact that fishers experience delayed implantation. A fertilized egg starts its development as it travels down the oviduct. Reaching the uterus in the blastocyst stage, it then becomes inactive, the metabolic rate falls, and cell division ceases. The unimplanted blastocyst remains quiescent for a period of ten to eleven months before implantation and normal development resumes.

  Newborn young are altricial and are sparsely furred. The eyes open at about seven weeks of age. Young fishers remain in the den for about three months, after which they travel with the female until fall when the family breaks up.

• Longevity
  Fishers have lived 10 years in the wild and over 10 years in captivity (Powell, 1981).

• Terrestrial Ecology
  Fishers are nocturnal and are active all year. They climb well, and although they spend a considerable amount of time foraging and resting in trees, their activity is predominantly terrestrial ( Powell, 1981). They are solitary animals except during the beeding season.

  Fishers avoid open places with no overhead cover such as fields, roads, burns, and open bogs. They run when crossing open spaces and frequently minimize the amount of open distance to be crossed.

  Dens are located primarily in hollow trees and in log piles. Occasionally, fishers will occupy crevices and spaces beneath large rocks and boulders. They do not burrow. Fishers can swim if necessary, but despite their name, they do not catch fish.

  Squirrels, chipmunks, mice, woodchucks, rabbits, hares, and porcupines comprise the main food of fishers. Fruits and nuts may be eaten when available.

• Predators and Defense
  No predators recorded from the park.

• Parasites
  None recorded from the park.

• University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology
• eNature

Index

Acknowledgements

• Text
  • Dr. Donald W. Linzey, Wytheville Community College - wclinzd@wcc.vccs.edu
  • Christy Brecht, Wytheville Community College - wcbrecc@wcc.vccs.edu

• Photographs
  • Roger Barbour

• Map development
  • Richard Schulz, Great Smoky Mountains National Park - richard_schulz@nps.gov

• Web page design & coding
  • Denise Lim, University of Georgia, Athens
  • John Pickering, University of Georgia, Athens

• Audubon, J.J., and J. Bachman. 1846. The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, Vol. I. J. J. Audubon, NY.

• Linzey, D.W., and A.V. Linzey. 1968. Mammals of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 84(3): 384-414.

• Linzey, D.W., and A. V. Linzey. 1971. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.

• Linzey, D. W. 1995a. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Blacksburg, Virginia: The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc.

• Linzey, D. W. 1995b. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park-1995 Update. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 111(1):1-81.

• Linzey, D. W. 1998. The Mammals of Virginia. Blacksburg, Virginia: The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc.

• Merriam, C. H. 1888. Remarks on the fauna of the Great Smoky Mountains; with description of a new species of red-backed mouse (Evotomys Carolinensis). American Journal of Science 3rd Series 36 (216): 458-460.

• Miller, G.S., and R. Kellogg. 1955. List of North American Recent Mammals. U. S. National Museum Bulletin 205. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

• Parmalee, P. W. 1960. A prehistoric record of the fisher in Georgia. Journal of Mammalogy 41(3): 409-410.

• Powell, R. A. 1981. Martes pennanti. Mammalian Species No. 156: 1-6. American Society of Mammalogists.

• Strickland, M. A., C. W. Douglas, M. Novak and N. P. Hunzinger. 1982. Fisher. Pages 586-598. In: J. A. Chapman and C. A. Feldhamer, eds. Wild Mammals of North America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.