Fishers in Washington

Pound for pound, the Northwest’s most ferocious predator is not the grizzly bear, the cougar, or the gray wolf. Instead, it’s a stealthy, slender member of the weasel family no larger than a housecat: the fisher.

Section:Gallery

Wed., May 29, 2019

A fisher pauses on a tree in Idaho. Although fisher populations appear to be recovering in western Washington their numbers are struggling in the Selkirk and Purcell ranges.

Fred Forssell Courtesy
A fisher races through the snow after being released into the Cascade mountains during the winter of 2016-17.

Paul Bannick Courtesy
A fisher races through the snow after being released into the Cascades during the winter of 2016-17. Over the last decade, Washington has elevated fisher reintroduction to an art form. Between 2008 and 2010, the state released 90 fishers on the Olympic Peninsula, where the animals have since produced several generations of offspring. From 2015 to 2017, biologists loosed another 69 into the South Cascades, including Mount Rainier National Park. Two dozen more scampered into the North Cascades this winter.

Paul Bannick Courtesy
A fisher runs across a log after being released into the Cascades. Fishers are ferocious predators and nimble climbers that can rotate their paws nearly 180 degrees.

Paul Bannick Courtesy
A fisher races through the snow after being released into the Cascades during the winter of 2016-17 while spectators watch. Over the last decade, Washington has elevated fisher reintroduction to an art form. However, the ferocious predators have not made a strong comeback in the Selkirk or Purcell mountains.

Paul Bannick Courtesy