Fisher 927 



In addition to the generic characters which it shares with size 

 the Marten, the Fisher has the following: 



Length, about 36 inches (915 mm.); tail, 14 inches (356 

 mm.); hind-foot, 4 inches (102 mm.). The female is smaller. 



Bachman gives^ 8| pounds as the weight of a young male, weight 

 M. Hardy, after weighing many, found thent 8 pounds to 12^ 

 pounds.^ B. R. Ross says the largest he ever caught was 18 

 pounds.^ 



In general its colour is grayish-brown or brownish-black, colour 

 lighter on the sides, browner below; darker, sometimes quite 

 black, on snout, ears, feet, and tail; and on the head, neck, and 

 shoulders so much tipped with whitish that it has a grizzly 

 gray appearance; the ears have pale linings; like all of the 

 group, it varies greatly in intensity of colour; the claws are 

 whitish horn-colour. 



When in its natural surroundings, the Fisher suggests a 

 big black cat with bushy tail, or else a black Fox, according as 

 it is seen in the trees or on the ground. 



Two races are recognized: 



pennanti Erxleben, the typical form. 

 pacifica Rhoads, with larger skull and upper molars, 

 also some colour differences. 



Life-history. 



The Fisher is found in the great pine and spruce forests range 

 from Maine to latitude 62° on the Mackenzie River and west 

 to the Pacific Ocean. 



In Manitoba it is rare. W. R. Hine saw one killed on the 

 Assiniboine, near Headingly, some years ago, and had another 

 from the Seine beyond Point du Chene. I found it in the pine 

 forest about Rat Portage, and have seen one or two brought 

 from the region between Lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg. 



' Q. N. A., 1849, Ii P- 309- * Shooting and Fishing, April 13, 1899, p. 526. 

 » Can. Nat., 1861, VI, p. 24. 



