Govind Tekale
A rare wild animal called a fisher now lives in Murrysville, Westmoreland County. Trail cameras caught clear pictures of this member of the weasel family, which disappeared from Pennsylvania over 100 years ago.
“To our amazement, we captured fisher photos on four out of the six logs,” says PixCams, the wildlife watching group that set up cameras in December. They spread six cameras across 40 acres of land on downed logs.
Looking at the fisher’s size, experts believe it’s female. Female fishers weigh between four and nine pounds and measure 30 to 37 inches long. Males are bigger, weighing between seven and fifteen pounds and measuring 35 to 48 inches long.
Bill Powers from PixCams puts this discovery in perspective: “The fisher spotted in Murrysville shows the biodiversity of western Pennsylvania.” These animals usually hide from people, which makes seeing one special. Trail cameras help us learn about animals we rarely spot in person.
Why did fishers disappear from Pennsylvania? Two main reasons: intensive deforestation in the 1800s, and early colonial development changed their habitats. The fishers we see today came back naturally from nearby states in the 1970s. Wildlife experts also brought more fishers here in the 1990s to help rebuild their population.
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The Pennsylvania Game Commission, which manages wildlife in the state, says fishers now live successfully in many places – even in rural and suburban areas where no one expected them to survive. This shows how these adaptive forest carnivores can adjust to changes in their environment when given a chance.
These animals are an important part of Pennsylvania’s wildlife. As forest carnivores, they contribute to the local ecosystem. Their return means our local forests can support diverse wildlife again.
The Game Commission has what they call a “scientifically based and highly conservative management plan” to protect fishers and make sure they stay in Pennsylvania this time. This helps create better ways to protect both the animals and their forest homes.
The Murrysville fisher shows up regularly on camera, suggesting she’s made this area her permanent home. Wildlife experts hope a male fisher might move to the area and potentially mate with her.
Trail cameras, like those used by PixCams, help scientists study these elusive creatures without disturbing them. These photos give us glimpses of wildlife that people otherwise wouldn’t see, as Bill Powers explained to KDKA-TV.
