2 Fisher (Cat) at the Beaver Pond of The Vermilon River

Note the claws which are partially retractable

More photos of this guy turned out well so he's back for an encore, and another little story. To ID this fellow I spent sometime on the web, and found out that these guys screech in the bush, and the sound will raise the hair on the back of your head.This summer when I was taking a rest on the cement abutment on the trail north of the east track, two rabbits bolted accompanied by the most awful scream and I think it might have been this fellow. I think I interrupted his hunt.
 In the same area, earlier that same week, a young fellow with his dog, who had been blueberry picking (both of them not just the dog), came tearing out of the bush, claiming something snarled and screamed at both of them. He thought it was a cougar. They've re-established themselves in this area. I think it was this guy or another one. You can find recordings of the screaming sound on the web.

1 Fisher (Cat) of the Vermilon River

This guy, certainly no beaver, turned up the day the ice skim was on the pond, and here is the story.

 The hike out was cold. Although it was cloudy, the sun was out intermittently, and as I sat on my favourite rock after shedding my gear ,except for the camera ever ready to get a few beaver shots, I started to doze a bit. Still alert enough I guess, I noticed a tail going into the log pile in the front of the pond. Not a beaver tail I might add. I stood up and was a little disappointed as he was going the wrong way for a photo. Annoyed I picked up a rock from the old rail bed and lobbed it up in the air and it struck the skim breaking through with a loud splash. Out popped Mr. Tough Guy prepared for lunch or at least to defend his territory.

I think he is a Fisher or Fisher Cat as Americans call him. He is a member of the Mustelid family (weasel) a cousin of the marten and the wolverine. The marten a little smaller has an orange chest patch. The Fisher is normally dark brown or black and may be frosted at the fur tips. He forages for mice, voles, rabbits and has achieved a rather nasty reputation as a predator.

(For non-North Americans, the wolverine about the size of  a mid-sized dog is avoided by all predators- think vicious.)

  Probably because the Fisher is the only mammal with a strategy to attack porcupines successfully, he is also considered a proficient predator. He is being re-introduced in some New England states as a natural solution to a porcupine problem. He was trapped extensively at one time and marketed along with his cousin, the Marten, as sable. That's why the clue was the preferred fur of Hollywood glamour queens.

Congrats Hilke for guessing the ID of the animal. More photos follow in another entry posted tonight at my time 7pm.