This ‘secretive and elusive’ weasel-like animal was just spotted on video in Maine

A critter wanders the Maine wilderness, sliding through snow and feasting on porcupines.

The endangered species is rarely seen. But in Maine, the weasel-like animal was spotted on video.

A fisher was recently spotted roaming through the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said on March 9.

“Fishers are usually secretive and elusive, making this trail camera footage from Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge in Maine pretty spectacular,” officials said on Instagram.

The animal can be found in forests, usually with logs, brush piles and trees around to burrow through, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

“For many years the fisher was thought to be an animal whose range was restricted to the most heavily wooded spruce-fur regions of Maine,” state wildlife officials said. “However, recent population expansions have shown the fisher to be much more adaptable than previously believed.”

Their habitat doesn’t mean fishers are always seen, though. The animal has wandered the state for years, but some people have never crossed paths with a fisher.

“I’ve lived in Maine for 30 years but have never seen one,” one person commented on Instagram. “We hear/see evidence of them and know to keep cats in at night.”

Fishers are about the size of a cat with a long, busy tail, short legs and feet that can turn nearly backward, according to the National Park Service.

It leaves behind a scent that humans wouldn’t notice. The critter has tiny scent glands on the bottom of its paw pads that are used for mating.

Wildlife officials in Maine have been tracking fisher population trends by using motion-activated cameras and snow tracking, according to the department.

This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 2:30 PM with the headline "This ‘secretive and elusive’ weasel-like animal was just spotted on video in Maine."