WILD NEW JERSEY EXCLUSIVE: Wolverine-like fisher returns to New Jersey
The fisher has returned to New Jersey after a century away. (Photo courtesy of Charles Kontos).
Fishers - a species more associated with the vast Canadian forests than the densely populated northeast - have returned to New Jersey. Rutgers conservation biologist Charles Kontos has been studying the fisher for the last three years, and in October 2006 his motion camera traps documented the first verified sighting of the fisher in New Jersey after a 100-year hiatus. There have since been at least five other verified sightings. See Kontos's website, www.njfishers.org, for more details about this amazing return.
On a recent weekend, Wild New Jersey's David Wheeler visited with Kontos in Stokes State Forest, one of the fisher's haunts. Following are photos from that visit, and we will be taking a look at some of Kontos's other thrilling wildlife sightings in the rugged northwest portion of New Jersey- from bobcats and black bears to coyotes and otters - in a future Wild New Jersey exclusive:
Tops mate...keep up the good work.
We could really use your experience and commitment wildlife and oceans here in WA...
http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/science-and-research/marine-research/index.html
all to the best to ya mate
cheers
joeb
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i was hiking stokes state forest yesterday and at 3pm saw what i think might have been a wolverine lounging in a pine tree. it was monkey looking almost...mostly black but white around the face. i was googling what it could be and came across an article explaining your study of fishers. there are several pines where stony brook trail meets station trail in stokes...i saw it in the first pine tree there. i made eye contact with it and was about to check it out, but my friend kept me moving slowly by, thank goodness i read they are vicious. cool to see, a little scary, but i feel very lucky! good look with your research~kristine
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Our small dog tried to attack a coyote tonight (5-12-10). We called our dog back to the house before our dog was injured. This coyote was spotted in Devonshire, NJ near the Egg Harbor City Cemetery. It was one other largest we have spotted on our property to date.
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My father and I went on a bike ride today, around 2:30 pm, at Leeds Point in Atlantic County, New Jersey. We were on Oyster Creek Road, which is near the northern end of the Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Refuge, and we noticed a dark, stocky, furry animal on the side of the road. As we approached, it went back into the marsh, but we managed to get about 60 feet close. We've done a little research to try to find out what it was, and we thought it looked a lot like a wolverine. Then we came across the picture above, showing a remarkably similar animal. Just thought you would appreciate knowing this. Best of luck to you in your research!
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I saw dead wolverine on Rt 202 near rt 287 in Montville on Saturday Jan 28 2012
first time I saw such an animal and took me a while to search what it was
too bad it was killed
very dark brown with lighter golden brown stripe. long bushy fur
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Did you contact NJ fish and wildlife? They might be willing to send someone out to the location and retrieve the deceased animal or get a fur sample and photo veriy what kind of animal you saw.
I just finished watching a program on wolverines in alaska. They are very interesting animals. If what you saw is in fact a wolverine it would be a rare find.
Could it be a red fox? there are many of them in NJ.
Regards,
SJ
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