Baby Fishers Keep Warm and Cozy in MN
December 18, 2008
If there's a winter storm brewing where you are, make like a fisher baby and cuddle up for warmth. Born at the Minnesota Zoo, these little siblings are perfectly paired. In the wild, fishers raise their young in cozy dens made from rocks, roots, or other found shelter.
Born March 23, 2008 at the Minnesota Zoo
First fishers born at the Zoo since 1999
The Zoo is one of only four AZA-accredited zoos to exhibit fishers and the only one to produce offspring in the last three years.
Born on Sunday, March 23, the three kits*two males and one female*are doing well and have started to explore their exhibit on the Minnesota Trail. Since their birth, they had been kept in an off-exhibit holding area with their mother to ensure their best possible health.
Fishers are known for their tree-climbing, hunting, and agility. Solitary creatures, they are constantly on the move. Fishers almost disappeared because of trapping and logging practices, but now they are doing well in the northern forests. Resembling weasels, they are dark brown in color and are found in Alaska, Canada and the northern area of the United States in both mixed wooded and heavily-forested areas. They are good swimmers and like to travel close to the water. Fishers primarily eat small mammals and are one of the only animals that eat porcupine. A litter of kits, usually 1-5 in number, are usually born in March or April after a gestation period of 352 days.