Maryland mammals

Fisher in Maryland

Pekania pennanti

Native to Maryland S3 Vulnerable in Maryland

Not listed as nonindigenous in Maryland by USGS NAS; native to its Maryland range.

IUCN Red List status

NE – Not Evaluated

Not yet assessed against IUCN Red List criteria.

Fisher in Maryland, by the numbers

Occasional in Maryland 47th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in Maryland

15 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

15 total records count every Maryland occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 9; the monthly chart covers the 9 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Fisher in Maryland

Most sightings fall in January.

9 Maryland occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Maryland records (table)
MonthRecords
January2
February1
March1
April0
May0
June1
July2
August1
September0
October0
November0
December1

Monthly fisher occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Maryland, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Sparse observation record in Maryland; presence confirmed but timing of activity not well documented.

Occurrence map

Where Fisher has been recorded in Maryland

9 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

9 Maryland records mapped

Where it's recorded in Maryland

CountyRecords
Allegany County 5
Garrett County 3
Washington County 1
Other localities 6

The complete county distribution, spread across 3 Maryland counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Fisher is one of the few North American predators agile enough to hunt porcupines, flipping them to attack the unprotected belly, though Maryland’s small number of records reflects this large weasel’s return to only the state’s most forested western counties after historic clearing pushed it out. NatureServe ranks the species S3, Vulnerable, here, a real conservation signal rather than just thin documentation.

Records cluster in the winter months of January through March, with a second rise in June and July, likely tracking the breeding season and the period when young fishers disperse to find new territory.

Fisher in other states

More mammals in Maryland in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries