Ever walk into your backyard at dusk and see a dark shape slip into the brush? Your heart thumps. You're thinking: Is that a bobcat or a fisher? Honestly, if you live in the Northeast or the Great Lakes region, you’ve probably had this debate. There’s a lot of folklore out there about both. People swear they’ve heard "fisher cats" screaming like banshees in the night. Others are convinced bobcats are lurking around every corner, ready to snatch a Golden Retriever.
Most of what we think we know is kinda wrong.
Basically, while both are secretive predators that love the woods, they belong to entirely different families. A bobcat is a feline—a literal cat. A fisher? It’s a member of the mustelid family. That makes it a giant, tree-climbing weasel. They don't even look that similar if you catch a good glimpse, but in the shadows, things get blurry.
The Identity Crisis: Telling Them Apart
Size is usually the first thing that trips people up. You’ve probably heard stories of 40-pound fishers. In reality? A big male fisher usually maxes out around 12 to 16 pounds. They are long and low to the ground, with a tail that makes up about a third of their total length. If you see something that looks like a stretched-out, dark brown teddy bear with a bushy tail, that’s your fisher.
Bobcats are the heavyweights here. A healthy male bobcat in New Hampshire or Maine can easily hit 25 to 35 pounds. They stand much taller at the shoulder—roughly 20 inches—compared to the fisher’s low-slung, 6-inch clearance.
Look at the Tail
This is the "aha!" moment for most homeowners.
- Bobcats have that famous "bobbed" tail. It's short, maybe 6 inches, and usually has a black tip on the top with a white underside.
- Fishers have a long, luxurious, tapering tail. It looks more like a squirrel's tail on steroids.
Face and Ears
The bobcat has a classic "cat" face with those iconic ear tufts and facial ruffs that make them look a bit like they have sideburns. Fishers have rounded, Mickey Mouse-style ears and a more wedge-shaped, weasel-like snout. If it looks "cute" in a weird, grumpy-old-man way, it’s probably a fisher. If it looks like it could be on a "Wanted" poster for stealing your soul, it’s probably a bobcat.
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Bobcat vs Fisher Cat: The Battle for the Backyard
People worry about their pets. It’s natural. You’ll hear neighbors say, "A fisher cat killed my tabby." But the data doesn't always back that up. Researchers like Dr. Roland Kays have looked at hundreds of fisher stomachs and rarely—and I mean rarely—find house cat remains.
Fishers are actually specialists. They are one of the few animals that can successfully hunt porcupines. They do this by dancing around the porcupine and biting it in the face until it’s too exhausted to protect its soft belly. It’s gruesome, but it shows just how fast and tactical they are.
Bobcats, on the other hand, are ambush pros. They sit. They wait. They pounce. They’re much more likely to take down a deer than a fisher is, especially in deep snow where the deer gets bogged down.
That Famous "Scream"
If you hear a blood-curdling shriek in the woods at 2 AM, it is almost certainly not a fisher. Despite the "fisher cat" nickname and the legends, fishers are mostly silent. Biologists from New York’s DEC and Maine’s IF&W have noted that fishers don't really have the vocal hardware for those screams.
What are you actually hearing?
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- Red Foxes: Their "vixen's scream" sounds like a person being murdered.
- Bobcats: They yowl and "bark" during mating season, and it is genuinely terrifying.
- Barn Owls: They hiss and shriek in a way that defies logic.
Who Wins in a Fight?
It’s the question everyone wants to know. If a bobcat and a fisher cross paths, who walks away?
Biologists used to think they just ignored each other. New research suggests otherwise. In places like Minnesota and Maine, bobcats have been documented killing fishers. It’s a form of "intraguild predation." Essentially, the bobcat sees the fisher as a competitor for the same squirrels and rabbits.
There's a fascinating study out of California where researchers used DNA to track fisher deaths. They found that bobcats were the primary killers of female fishers. Why females? Because female fishers are smaller—only about 4 to 6 pounds. They’re an easy target for a 20-pound bobcat.
However, fishers aren't pushovers. In Maine, there have been recorded instances of fishers killing Canada Lynx, which are larger than bobcats. Fishers are incredibly aggressive for their size. If a fisher gets the jump on a bobcat, it's not a guaranteed win for the cat.
Tracking Them in the Snow
Identifying tracks is the best way to know who’s visiting your property while you sleep.
Bobcat tracks look like house cat tracks but bigger.
- Four toes.
- No claw marks (usually), because their claws stay retracted.
- The heel pad has two lobes at the top and three at the bottom (like a "M" shape).
Fisher tracks are more chaotic.
- Five toes.
- Visible claw marks.
- A "C" shaped palm pad.
- They often move in a "2-by-2" lope, where their back feet land almost exactly in the prints of their front feet.
Coexisting With These Predators
Whether you’re dealing with a bobcat or a fisher, the advice is pretty much the same. These animals are moving back into suburban areas because our forests are maturing and our backyards are full of "prey" (bird feeders attract squirrels, and squirrels attract predators).
If you want to keep your pets safe, keep them inside between dusk and dawn. Don’t leave pet food outside. Most importantly, don't fear them. They aren't "vicious" monsters; they’re just trying to survive in a world that’s increasingly paved over.
Actionable Steps for Property Owners
- Clear Brush: Fishers and bobcats love cover. If you have thick brush piles right up against your house, you’re providing a hunting blind.
- Secure Bird Feeders: It’s not the birdseed the predators want—it’s the rodents that come to eat the spilled seed.
- Install Motion Lights: Both animals are generally shy. A sudden bright light is usually enough to send them packing.
- Use a Game Cam: Instead of guessing, spend $50 on a trail camera. You might be surprised to find that the "fisher" you thought you saw was actually a very large raccoon or a wandering opossum.
Knowing the difference between a bobcat and a fisher cat isn't just about trivia. It’s about understanding the ecosystem in your own yard. One is a silent stalker, the other is a high-energy acrobat. Both are essential for keeping rodent populations in check.
To get a better sense of your local wildlife, check your state's Fish and Wildlife website for recent population surveys. Many states, like New Hampshire and Massachusetts, have active "sighting" portals where you can see where these animals have been spotted recently near your town. This data helps biologists track how these species are adapting to human-encroached territories.