Our new Potomac River Critter of the Year is an elusive, pint-sized predator with a love of local woodlands!
/Who is a cousin of our river otters, has a tail that’s over half as long as its body, and strikes fear in the hearts of porcupines? Read on to find out!
fisher photo by MTSOfan, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
If you missed all the fun of our March Wildness bracket last month, we’ve got exciting news to share: Hundreds of wildlife enthusiasts just voted in the Potomac River's new Critter of the Year, and 2025 is officially the Year of the Fisher!
Our inaugural winner, Otto the Otter, helped us dive deeper into why a swimmable and fishable Potomac River is so important to critters and humans alike. But the critter who follows in his illustrious pawprints is poised to help us find our roots among the trees. By learning about the astounding array of animals and plants that flourish in our region, we can feel even prouder about the impacts of our efforts to keep our waters clean and lands pristine.
Ready to meet your new Critter of the Year? Let’s scurry to it!
Four fascinating fisher facts (try saying that three times fast!)
🐾 Is this Potomac mammal mysterious or just misunderstood?
Well, it’s a little bit of both. Contrary to the colloquial “fisher cat” name, the fisher (aka Pekania pennanti) isn’t feline, and it's no pescatarian, either. Fishers are part of the Mustelid family - related to martens, weasels, and otters - and they’re native only to North America.
Another common fisher fallacy is that their vocalizations include blood-curdling shrieks heard at night near woodlands, but you can actually thank red foxes for any chills those creepy calls cause. (Click at your own risk!)
🐾 Fishers are tree-huggers, just like us
But while our appreciation of the Potomac’s plentiful pines and oaks tends to stay on solid ground, fishers can scale trees with remarkable athleticism. They spend most of their time on the forest floor, but you can see their climbing prowess if you catch one hunting or feeling threatened.
The kinds of terrain that fishers call home are large, unbroken stretches of evergreen or mixed wood forests thick with foliage... perfect for sneaking up on prey or keeping a low profile.
🐾 Fishers are equal-opportunity snackers
These omnivorous forest-dwellers aren’t picky eaters – they'll hunt and forage for small mammals, birds, frogs, nuts, fruits, mushrooms, and carrion. But despite their petite size, they’re surprisingly fierce: Fishers are one of the primary predators of porcupines and have even been documented taking down lynxes!
credit: Ron Grant, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
🐾 They're elusive, but you can spot them in our region
Fishers are crepuscular, or most active at dawn and dusk, which makes them a pretty rare critter to spot. Run-ins with this small but mighty hunter do occur in our region, though—most commonly in the western portions of the Potomac watershed.
Why we’re so excited about our new Critter of the Year
Fishers aren’t just cute – their presence in the Potomac River region is an indicator of successful conservation efforts. They were nearly driven to extinction between the late 19th and mid-20th century, overhunted for their dense winter pelts and suffering from extensive habitat loss across the United States.
Thanks to decades of concerted work to manage their populations and protect the old-growth forests and riparian buffers they rely upon, fishers are on the upswing! But they’re not “out of the woods” quite yet. Deforestation, wildfires, and range fragmentation continue to present looming threats to the Potomac’s fishers.
From the hollow trees where they make their dens to the mast seeds they eat, our local fisher population needs healthy, protected woodlands to thrive. Our Tomorrow’s Trees program invites Potomac River communities to pitch in for future forests, one acorn at a time. So, if you happen to encounter a fisher on an evening walk this spring, remember: Give it plenty of space when you say hello and take an extra moment to appreciate our amazing woodlands!
Ready to meet our official fisher ambassador? Following us on Instagram and Facebook – she'll make her debut soon!
