Wild Animal Danger Question
Any wildlife experts out there? For several months I haven't been able to take Sully for walks in the woods due to snow cover and at times extreme cold. As the snow is finally melting I was looking forward to going farther into the woods. For the past several weeks we have had a bold fisher that roams through the yard daily. It didn't run when it saw Sully and I were looking out the window at it. It was very close to the house, but we do live in a wooded area. Fishers typically live in the northern US states, and they are dangerous to wild rabbits and small pets, even porcupines, but I am not sure if they would go after a corgi-sized pet. Apparently they are very aggressive. Does anyone know how dangerous they really are? The animal control officer said he would try to trap it but they are impossible to catch. The property management put up warning signs and removed some wood piles and logs that may attract them but it is still hanging around. According to animal control they have no predators so they are typically bold, but they usually don't come out during the day. He said it may be extra hungry with the snow cover, or it may be rabid. I have been bringing a whistle to blow if I see it but I am not sure if that would deter it from approaching us. I hate to be banned from the woods since we are surrounded by woods and it limits walks so much. Thanks in advance!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Marcie on
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I would be fairly careful. Fisher get house cats, if it is desperate enough it may go after a corgi. Once the snow is gone and it can get small prey easier it should move on. Is a neighbor putting food out? One of my neighbors puts food in her backyard for foxes. It drives me crazy.
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Permalink Reply by Holly on
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I don't think anyone puts food out because we don't want coyotes , skunks and such, but we do all have bird feeders which may attract a desperate animal. We get deer and bunnies and such which would attract the fisher for food and deer scat I'm sure. We also have a pond and a brook on both sides so it is in its preferred habitat. I feel like we are on house arrest. : )
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I felt that way when we had a bobcat around at the beginning of winter. I was just careful, kept Becca on leash, talked and made noise. We also walked in pairs or groups with our dogs. I joked that Becca didn't need to be the biggest dog, just the fastest.
If you have squirrels at the bird feeders that may explain it.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Coyotes don't scare me but a fisher would. They are like giant weasels, right? Honestly I'd avoid the area til hunting approves.
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By the way, I'd be less concerned about it trying to attack the dog as prey and more concerned about a defensive attack if it felt cornered.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Beth, you make a valid point. I would also be carrying a tall heavy duty walking stick along with the whistle as I personally would feel safer.
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Permalink Reply by Linda on
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That is a good point Beth. Like Jane I would be carrying a big stick and if you can get something like pepper spray that might be a good idea too. I don't like to walk my guys where I live in the city...too many loose dogs which are of the bully breed variety. When I do take them around the neighborhood I carry a small can of air freshener spray...pepper spray and the like are illegal here. But anything you can spray at it is going to bother it's eyes and make it back off. Just need to make sure it sprays a distance....bug spray, particularly bee spray, goes far.
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Thanks everyone for some great tips. I have been carrying a fairly heavy stick from a snow fence in one hand and the cane I need for walking in the other, but it is tricky to manage two sticks and Sully. A spray can would be easier. It is out during the day as well so it must be hungry. We have all of its favorite meals, rabbit, squirrel, porcupine, snakes. They actually look cute until you see the teeth and claws. There have been human attacks I have learned, Only those trying to protect pets in MA and ME and a six year-old boy at a bus stop in RI that have read about I New England. If they are really hungry, rabid, or protecting their young they will take on just about anything I guess. There have been reports of them crashing through screens and pet doors and leaving with a household pet. The more I research them the more I want to pick up a cross-bow. Just kidding PETA!
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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
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I ordered up a nice walking stick from a place online. Try searching "walking stick" at Amazon. Some people find them more comfortable and manageable than a cane. If it worked that way for you, it might double as a shilelagh. I use mine as a coyote bopper.
Never heard of a fisher (we have raccoons, bobcats, and the occasional cougar, but no weasel-like things). Looked it up on Wikipedia...yikes! Surely wouldn't want to meet that thing in a dark forest with a small dog in tow. Spray might be usefiul. What about a pistol -- are guns not legal where you live? With bears, you can usually scare them off by shooting into the air (they don't like the noise). If that's true of these creatures, you wouldn't have to be an especially good shot.
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Holly...I wouldn't be worrying about PETA, I would be more concerned with protecting my animals. If something was that bold to attack I would do whatever it took to protect my dogs (or cats, kids, household).
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Permalink Reply by Denis J. on
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I hear ya. Although it shows on Wikipedia we might have them in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, I have never came accross one of them. Wally and I walk in the local park, early morning and evenings, sometimes at night in the regular trails and snowshoe trails and I'm telling myself that eventhough I have a Corgi with me, they will avoid us since I'm with him.
We do hear the occasional cracks in the bushes and branches, which could be raccoons or porcupines, or deers.
I do have to say that last summer I noticed a big chunk of porcupines left in the middle of mountain bike trails. This was during the month of July and the next morning I met one of the park maintenance. I've asked what animals do we have that would kill a porcupine and leave a chunk like that. Although the gentlemen was not a ranger he did advise that they have seen Royal Eagles flying away with kills sometimes. The Bald Eagle population in our parts is increasing pretty well over the past few years.
Be careful out there and just so you don't feel trapped in your home, I would seek a hunting store to see if they have any deterents or device you can use in case you'd see one. I don't really feel safe with my "Bear Bell" but I do wear it where we go deep in the trails.
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HA. We have an expression here that the way you can tell grizzly poop from brown bear poop is by the bells in the poo. Be careful! I haven't gone into the woods much this season because a woman nearby was shot in her own yard when a stupid hunter mistook her dog for a white-tailed deer. I saw reports of some pet kills by fishers in Canada also. They supposedly have a cry that goes right through you. Sounds like a woman or child screaming apparently. I can still hear my neighbor's rooster so it must be safe in a pen. They love poultry but they eat their kill over the course of several days so they often leave a portion of the kills and come back to eat it over time. I have learned a lot from my research this week. One guy just said "Fishers suck!" Guess they don't have many fans. They do have beautiful coats but they are no longer killed for pelts. I don't know who would want a coat of what is basically a large weasel.
I agree with Linda about doing whatever is necessary to protect myself and mine. I know I can go full wolverine on this guy if it does attack, but they are incredibly fast. They will go after an animal with the owner walking it on a leash but I bet the spray would help. I am planning to check out the feed and grain store for some type of animal deterrent spray. They sound like the reactive pit bulls of the wild. I don't have snow shoes so I haven't minded being limited in walking til now, but I will want out when the snow melts. It looks like we are about to get a couple more feet of snow this week so I have a few weeks to can plan my attack for when that melts. When spring comes and deer hunting is over I may suit up and head for the woods again.
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