Another fisher cat sighting - but not here

Sightings of what is believed to be an over-sized weasel known as a fisher have been reported in South Jersey - primarily Pennsauken - in recent weeks, but there's been no conclusive evidence.

Indeed, wildlife officials have gone on record as saying the presence of a fisher is unlikely.

We wonder what they might say now that there is evidence that at least one fisher is on the prowl in the most urban setting of the Bronx, of all places.

In a posting on its City Room blog, the New York Times draws attention to a photo taken by a police officer of an apparent fisher walking on the sidewalk in the borough's University Heights section, which overlooks the Harlem River.

Roland Kays, an expert who has written about the fisher for the New York TImes, confirmed the ID.

Kays notes that fishers love to eat squirrels and rats, and what better place for both than a city teeming with both.

"No predator keeps a lower profile than fishers; if they can use their tunnel-running to hunt rats, and tree-climbing to get squirrels, they could make a nice living in New York City," Kays writes.

The mention of squirrels being high on the fisher's menu might, in fact, endear them to some folks in these parts who are in never ending battles with the bushy tailed rodents. But Kays says one fisher is not likely to put much of a dent in rodent populations.

" It does, however, put an exclamation point on the recovery of fishers ... and highlights the adaptability of wildlife if given a chance," he says.