Date of sighting: Saturday, May 10
Location: Southeast Benzie County
Time: Approximately 8:15 P.M.
I was facing east, with the sun at my back.
An animal entered the utility right-of-way and bounded across the width of the grass strip. I had maybe 20 to 30 seconds to observe.
What was that animal? My first thought was a raccoon because of the rounded back, but it launched into a gallop, alternately humped up with all four feet under it and then stretched out.
It was longer, leaner and taller than a racoon, glossy, dark brown with a long, furry tail. Shorter than a bobcat or coyote. Wrong color, too.
Maybe a very young bear? But, the silhouette of a bear, even at a run, is rounder than this animal, the legs chunkier, plus, bears don’t have long, flowing tails.
I could only think of one Michigan mammal that matched what I was seeing—a fisher, AKA a fisher cat, although they have nothing to do with fish and are not cats. They’re more closely related to weasels and skunks.
When I got back to my office, I went through my Mammals of Michigan book and couldn’t find any suspect other than a fisher that matched what I saw.
Fishers were believed to have been extirpated in Michigan, but were reintroduced in the Upper Peninsula. Their population has grown to the point that they can now be hunted in the UP.
But, are they present in the Lower Peninsula? Is that the identity of my Benzie County mystery animal?
Without photos or DNA evidence, we can’t give a positive ID and so it will remain a mystery.
