I'll never forget the first time I saw a Marten (aka "fisher cat" in New England). I had just moved to Mass. to work in an outdoor education facility. The day I arrived there was a foot of snow, and I went out to hike and get to know the property. Along a transformer-line right-of-way, atop a hill ahead of me, I saw this....animal. Like a fox but not, like a mink but taller, like a giant cat but way more powerful, like a bear but too small and skinny. I had no idea what it was (having been brought up in suburbia).

Once back at the ranch, I looked it up, and learned about fishers. But I still think it's cool that I could live to the age of 23 and see an animal in the US that I couldn't identify.

Then, of course, when I traveled out west and met pikas and kaibab squirrels and such, I learned that there were so so many more animals I didn't know.

endangered = potentially tasty

So what's it's nemesis? Habitat enrouchment (sp) or non-native predators?

I was expecting to see a bird when I clicked on the picture. It has a bird-y name.

Habitat, porpoise. Martens are large and bad-ass, like a mean fightin' weasel. It would take serious predation to bother them.

"LT had knocked over several banks and one Federal Trust before Dalton's Boys brought him down. Man, he was one mean, fightin' weasel."

It takes serious predation to bother LT.

LT is the ringleader of the notorious Pine Marten Gang.

It does sound rather "birdie", maybe because Pine Siskins are birds as are Purple Martins. And then there's Snake Plissken...

I'll show myself out, thank you and good night.