Cameras spot a rare, weasel-like animal called a fisher roaming Yosemite National Park

Biologists this winter confirmed the rare sighting of a fisher living in the habitat north of Merced River in Yosemite National Park.

The fisher is a “very rare and secretive member of the weasel family,” Yosemite National Park said in a news release.

Biologists used motion-sensor cameras, scent-detecting dogs and genetic analysis to confirmed two fisher scats and four fisher pictures. That means there could be from one to six fishers living in the southern Sierra Nevada area.

The last fisher detected north of the Merced River was in 2017, the first time in almost 100 years. Biologists collared and tracked the animal to study its habitat needs, but after the collar battery died, the fate of the fisher became unknown. The mystery may be solved soon.

“We hope to learn through DNA genotyping if any of the recent detections match the DNA of the fisher that was captured and collared in 2017,” Yosemite National Park said in a Feb. 22 Facebook post.

Fishers were once widespread in North America, but their numbers dwindled in the 1800s as hunters sought out their soft fur, according to the Sierra Club. Their numbers never completely recovered despite a California trapping ban in the 1940s. Logging, development and wildfires further helped decrease the fisher population.

The fisher research is a collaboration between Yosemite National Park, US Forest Service, Rogue Detection Dog Teams, U.C. Davis, and Oregon State University.

This story was originally published March 6, 2020 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Cameras spot a rare, weasel-like animal called a fisher roaming Yosemite National Park."