What kind of animal was that?
 

I saw an animal today that I have never seen before: I am hoping someone can identify it for me.

I set up my last stand this morning at my country property in Western PA. Once the stand was set I decided to enjoy the view for a few minutes. About 10 feet to my right is a overgrown pine tree: bare trunk for the first 30 feet and 10 feet of branches at the top.

I started to hear small debris falling from the top of the pine tree followed by a "scrabbling" sound and then I saw an animal scramble down the tree (headfirst) and take off into the underbrush.

In size and shape, it looked like a fox but the legs were shorter. It was dark brown in color with a medium long snout, thick fur, and a long, bushy tale. Obviously, it is an accomplished climber.

Anyone know what it was? The word "martin" comes to mind, but I'm not sure that I have ever seen a martin. I think I saw the same animal last year in the same area moving along the ground near sundown: I remember wondering if it was a black fox.

Whatever it was, it was very cool. These little surprises are a great part of hunting.

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

Squirrel.....

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

Fisher?
But you said it went head first down the tree? Then perhaps it was a marten:

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

It was definitely not the second picture.

It may well have been the first picture (a fisher), but it definitely went headfirst down the tree.

Thanks for the info!

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

Fox squirrels in the area?

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

It was probibly a fisher. Grey fox do climb tree's thought. Maybe it was a fox just darker.

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

I'd say a fisher...we have more and more of them here now.

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

definitely a monkey or an alligator....;)

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

duhhh, it was a cat smart one!

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

My guess is a fisher . With out a photo its hard to tell

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

the fact that it was in a pine tree give it up. more then likely a fisher. their #1 food is Red Squirrels..(pine squirrels) you know the little redish colored squirrels that are barely biggger then chipmunks?..trying to explain coz they are called so many things lol. but fishers eat ALOT of red squirrels. what county were you in if you dont mind?? i dont know their range...i know my buddy has a problem with them at his camp. he said the squirrel hunting used to be aswesome. used to be everywhere. it would been easy for us to shoot limits..but they rarely shot them. once in a while the "kids" did. but all the squirrels disappeared...and they started seeing the fisher. i dont know the range of martins in PA either..

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

If it was in PA, it was probably a mountain lion. That place is just swarming with them:D

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

BIGFOOT[:-]

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

It was a male fisher. Special thanks to trembow for his picture and initial information: I did some additional research and everything is consistent with the picture.

I discovered that the fisher has rear paws that rotate 180 degrees, making it able to climb down a tree headfirst. It likes pine/mixed forest, especially in warmer weather when it rests in the tops of pine trees (which is where this one was found).

My property is in Cambria county: I understand that this is farther south than typical fisher territory.

I am virtually certain that I saw the same fisher last season while bowhunting in the same area. It is interesting because, as I understand, fishers tend to occupy wilderness areas while this is a band of forest around cultivated fields.

It was an extremely cool experience: I certainly hope my fisher does not get killed by some fool with a shotgun. He is welcome to eat any rodents he can find including squirrels.

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

Yeah, we have them on our farm in WV now...see a few each year.

RE: What kind of animal was that?
 

Squirells!!