A trail camera captured images of a rare and elusive animal, known as a fisher, in the Pennsylvania woods.
As PetaPixel reported, trail cameras set up by PixCams captured the fisher images in the Murrysville woods of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
PixCams operates wildlife live streams that successfully capture various wildlife species on camera. Those cameras showed an extremely rare fisher once believed to be extinct in the state.
PixCams wrote in a Facebook post, "This is a scarce animal to be seen in Murrysville, Pennsylvania — where it was captured."
Deforestation and unregulated hunting drove fishers out of Pennsylvania in the 1800s. In the mid-1900s, conservationists reintroduced nearly 200 of the animals to six northern Pennsylvania sites. Today, fishers are most commonly found in New York, New England, Massachusetts, and southern Canada.
Fishers are significant in woodland ecosystems because they are one of the very few animals able to kill and eat porcupines. They have a unique place in the food chain as they control porcupine populations while other animals steer clear of their dangerous quills.
Fishers also hunt mice, reptiles, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, and outdoor cats.
Stories about nearly extinct animals give hope that reintroduction efforts work to restore native species to their original habitats.
Meanwhile, sei whales are making an impressive comeback off the Argentinian coast after being nearly hunted to extinction. Bluefin tuna have also returned to British waters after being classified as endangered and practically disappearing for decades.
Wildlife cameras like the ones PixCams uses are valuable tools for assessing the status of threatened species without disturbing their natural behaviors.
Strategically placed cameras offer a unique window into the natural world and benefit conservation efforts. They provide critical habitat and population data to assess how reintroduction strategies are working.
Beyond scientific research, they also help the general public learn about and appreciate wild animals and encourage people to preserve the natural world.
One Facebook user commented on the PixCams post, "Wow. Grew up here in PA and never knew fishers were around. Crazy pic! Thanks for sharing."
"What a wonderful surprise," another Facebook user wrote. "They are not extinct anymore."
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