An animal that has been extinct in Ohio for nearly two centuries is making a comeback and heading west from the Pennsylvania border.
An animal believed to be a fisherman, a mammal related to river otters and weasels, was discovered on the road near Kent on Sunday.
It was found at the intersection of State Route 59 and State Route 261 in Franklin Township near Kent State University, according to William Ressler, who found the animal and reported it to officials of the state’s wildlife. If confirmed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, it could be the westernmost species ever spotted in the state.
Ressler said he was driving State Route 59 toward Kent when he spotted the animal, which he recognized as a fisherman, he told the Beacon Journal.
A hunter, Ressler said he knew fishermen were making forays into Ohio. He called the Portage County wildlife officer and left a message since it was a weekend, reported the road kill to the Ohio Highway Patrol, then left.
A few minutes later, the wildlife officer returned his call, so Ressler went back to the animal and found a few Kent State students trying to collect it for college because they thought it was also from a fisherman, Ressler said. Then the wildlife officer arrived, also recognizing that it appeared to be a fisherman, and collected it for ODNR biologists to study.
How to report a fisherman sighting
The Division of Wildlife relies, in part, on public reports to monitor Ohio’s growing population of fishers, as well as black bears, badgers, weasels and bobcats. Report your sightings, including photos or videos, to the Division of Wildlife via the HuntFish OH mobile app or at wildohio.gov. Contact your county wildlife officer to report roadkill fishermen. It is prohibited to collect roadkill carcasses.
ODNR Division of Wildlife studies Ohio fishermen
The ODNR Division of Wildlife collects roadkill fishers found in Ohio for age determination and genetic testing.
The fisherman found in Kent will be sent to Columbus for an autopsy, according to Laurie Brown, wildlife research technician with the Division of Wildlife. There, the wildlife biologist will examine its general health, possibly examine its stomach contents to study its diet and, if it is a female, check whether the animal was pregnant or in the process of to reproduce.
Fishermen disappeared from Ohio in the mid-1800s, as settlers destroyed their habitat and hunted them to near extinction, according to Farm and Dairy.
Since then, 40 fisher sightings have been confirmed in nine northeast Ohio counties (Ashtabula, Columbiana, Geauga, Trumbull, Mahoning, Lake, Jefferson, Harrison and Tuscarawas), according to ODNR. Two-thirds of these sightings, or approximately 26 sightings, occurred in the last three years. They moved west from established populations in Pennsylvania and naturally colonized Ohio.
“I have no doubt that we have fishermen in and around Portage County,” Brown said.
Most reports from Ohio fishermen come from Ashtabula County, she said, and some from Trumbull. Last year, reports were reported in Geauga County. Brown said the report on Kent is probably the furthest west they’ve had.
Recently, ODNR confirmed that a fisherwoman found dead on the road in Ashtabula in 2023 was pregnant, a sign that the animals were colonizing the state. Brown said it says a lot when an animal that was once here comes back, begins to reproduce and thrive.
“I think it’s great that we’re starting to see them more and get more reports about them in Ohio,” she said.
Pennsylvania and West Virginia have conducted a reintroduction program for fishers, Brown said, and that population is starting to expand into Ohio. Programs in both states have been so successful that they both now offer a trapping season for anglers.
What is a fisherman, sometimes wrongly called a fishing cat?
Although they are often called “fishing cats”, fishermen are not cats and do not catch fish. They are woodland carnivorous members of the weasel family.
They live primarily in southern Canada, New England, and New York, but can be found in scattered locations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia.
Fishers have a weasel-like body, bushy tail, tapered snout, and low, rounded ears. Adults reach a length of 20 to 25 inches, excluding the 13 to 16.5 inch tail, and can weigh between 3 and 15 pounds. Males are larger and heavier than females.
They hunt rodents and other animals, both in trees and on the ground. Their diet also includes fruits and nuts.
Ohio’s Great Outdoors: The Ohio Division of Wildlife maintains a website that shows anglers the best fishing spots
Fisherman versus mink. Which animals belong to the same family?
Fishers are a mustelid (family Mustelidae), which includes about 55 species of ferrets, polecats, badgers, martens, otters and weasels, among others, according to Britannica.
They are often confused with their cousin, the mink, according to the U.S. Forest Service. But mink are smaller, measuring 12 to 16 inches from head to tail and weighing 1 to 2.25 pounds. They have a small white patch on their chin and/or throat/chest, and a shorter, less bushy tail.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Fisher found in Kent? A mammal related to mink returns to Ohio
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