Bobcats killing Fisher in WI and MN

I thought I would start a new thread on this instead of using the Conservation Congress Thread, this something that I and others in the area have thought has been going on for years. It's the best explanation for our loss of fishers.

Thanks to 49er for the articles from MN, here's a quote from one article;

Of the 26 predated fishers, 21 were females (Table 2). Of the 21 females predated, only 1 was attributed to an avian predator [Great-horned owl (Bubo virginianus) suspected]. Conversely, 4 of the 5 male fisher predation deaths were attributed to raptors (all bald eagles; Haliaeetus leucocephalus), though we can’t rule out scavenging in 1 case where only the radiocollar was retrieved directly underneath an active eagle nest. We are awaiting forensic DNA analysis on many fishers killed by mammalian predators. However, similar to martens, field evidence and forensic DNA analysis completed so far suggests bobcats as the most common predator, with canids (wolf or coyote) suspected in at least 2 fisher deaths. Of particular note, 20 of the 21 female fishers killed by other predators were adults (≥2 years old), and 15 of those 20 were nursing females whose deaths resulted in complete litter loss. The deaths of these kit-rearing females and their litters represented 29% of the parous females and litters monitored during spring and early summer since the study began.


And the other article link is: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mcvmagazine/issues/2014/jan-feb/bobcats.html

What's your thoughts Wisconsinites?

I’ve wondered this for a few years. We use to have a lot of fishers and not many bobcats. Now bobcats are more common and there are less fisher.

I’m sure that the cats will and do kill fisher. I’m just not 100% sold on the theory that it’s in any significant numbers. Our state has had a good cat population for a number of years. We just had the wrong biologist in charge. Hopefully Shawn will be at this?

My post was miss-leading, I thought it was competition for prey with bobcats, not the outright killing, before these studies. The most disturbing is the preying on female fishers with young, taking out a litter and all future litters from the lost female.

I wonder how the Wi bobcat study is going. Remember all those bobcats WDNR collared a couple years ago?

Nothing scientific but it appears to me that it is the opposite here in Pa. We had a lot of cats 15 years ago and still do but their population is down a lot. But the fisher population is huge, We never saw one until 15 years ago and now see two or three every year. We are allowed ( with paid permit0 one a yea of each cat and fisher. I have released many cats over the years and recently have started to release fishers probably less than a dozen, but that is just in the last 10 years. I had a hollow that was called bobcat hollow and now only fishers are there. Just MY personal observation but looks to me that fishers are displacing bobcats in my little world........jk Ps dont even mention otters = PIA

i hope New Hampshire fish and game is paying attention to this.
bobcat numbers here are way too high, protected since 1974. tho, for 20 bucks apiece, i aint fightin a wildcat over one.

And here in Maine it's documented that male fisher are killing lynx.

Interesting

fisher kill everything including fawns

Here in New York I find there seems to be wide swings between species, large fisher population vs.low cat population or just the opposite. I have no proof, but I have always thought that fisher pray on bobcat kittens.Unfortunately we too have a biologist that allowed the Adirondack fisher population to decline. Fisher get a bad rap from some people that spread false information.

I Love Fisher!

I like the fisher also. I think they are just a small version of a wolverine. I think they are a hunting machine. I didn't read the article but is it possible the male fisher is killing female fisher and young at certain times of the year? Just a question of thought.

I would not doubt that, it seems every species except the pack animals that the big make kills the young.......jk

Lots of lynx here-not many fisher.
When the lynx population is high there are noticeably less fisher,and vice versa.
Snowshoe hares are important prey species for fisher in winter,because unlike marten their ability to hunt subnivean is limited because of their size.They cannot compete with lynx in winter for the rabbits.
Lynx are perfectly mobile in deep snow.Fisher struggle in deep snow.
Must be different dynamics at play between bobcats and fishers since both are adapted equally to snow conditions.Neither having an advantage over the other in winter. due to snowcover.
Just because one animal is high when another species is low and vice versa doesnt necessarily mean that one species directly kills the other.

I too am a big fan of fisher and have often pondered their role in the ecosystem and their effect on other animals and vice versa.

Bingo. Correlation does not equal causation, (except when debating Global Climate Warming Change).

Fisher are more adaptable at catching red squirrels and marten in the trees where Lynx are more adaptable in catching snowshoe hare in the deep snow.

In my area of PA, we are loaded with bobcats. Many trail cam pics and a few sightings every year. I saw a fisher cross the road the last week of February. He was the first one I’ve seen in 8 years. I’m lucky to get a trail cam pic or two in a year. We have a fisher season there too