Fisher Cats in Orange: Have You Seen Them?

On Riverside Drive last week, reader Kurt Buckholz said he and his mother observed a pack of fisher cats in the area.

He shared his experience on the Orange Patch Facebook page and wondered if anyone else has seen any fisher cats out and about. He said since the sighting, no chipmunks will come to his yard — the exact opposite of how it was in the past.

"Last year my yard was infested with them," he wrote.

After he posted, readers chimed in with their wildlife sightings.

"I saw five or six of them two months ago in my yard and up in the trees on Orange Center," said Carrie Fers Baker. "It sounded like they were tearing apart some animal. The screaming sound is something I will never forget."

Harry Mibs Kravet remembers the sound fisher cats make too.

"Yup, we hear them all the time at my parents' house in Orange," he said. "Their scream at night sounds like a rabbit is getting skinned alive. The Sound will make your hair on your neck stand straight."

Two readers didn't see any fisher cats but did notice a difference when it came to other animals. 

"I have not seen any Fisher cats but the rabbits I had all spring have disappeared," said Amber Cavallo-Eschrich.

Tom Voccola said, "I'm 90 percent sure a fisher cat is what took at my chickens last late last year," he said.

Other sightings took place around Pine Tree and Oakview Drive, Cheryl Stens Mingione said. Timothy Marsh said he saw fisher cats near Old Grassy Hill last year.

In August 2012, this reader wrote about a possible fisher cat attack on a baby deer.

If you've seen fisher cats out and about, where did you see them?