Nocturnal animal out in the middle of the day - cause for concern?

[Pinky]

I hope whatever it was it doesn't come back.
I have never heard of a fisher cat.What are they?

 

[lengel]

Quote:
They are nasty, very agile predators that can get into just about anything and have a habit of ripping the heads off of my hens and just leaving them. They also make a bizarre sound that is so close to sounding like a human baby crying that my neighbors run into their infant's room every time a fisher cat is outside of their house.

The one that got into our enclosure today got through a four inch gap between the gate and the frame that was created when ice twisted the gate slightly.

Fortunately, they tend to strike then leave. I've never had one take up residence nearby for any length of time.

 

[Pinky]

They sound real bad.I hope I never find out though.

 

[erinm]

Fishers are not srictly nocturnal, I have seen them around during the day many times here in MA. And foxes, when i say i saw a fox, people say lock up your kids, it must be rabid but fox will frequently come out especially a new mom looking for food. ErinM

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Animals are opportunists. One may be instinctually nocturnal, but if it learns that there is tasty food easily available during the day it will gladly change its habits. Sighting a typically nocturnal animal during the day is not necessarily a sign of its illness, but rather, it's cleverness.

Growing development has changed the habits of many wild animals. Some mid-level predators, like raccoons & fisher cats, have greatly benefitted from the development of their habitats. The large predators who used to prey upon them have been edged out, and they find an abundance of food available from their prey and from the garbage, pet food, and livestock humans make available.

I pray for the safety of your feathered family!

 

[birdbrain2]

Quote:
i agree i see nocturnal animals in the day all the time, haven't you ever stayed pass your bedtime?

 

[jvls1942]

I posted this last week and here it is again.. there is no nocturnal animal that will not hunt in the daytime and no daytime animal that will not hunt at night..

sick ???????? no,, hungry .........

 

[swampwander]

Gotta agree with everyone here on the hunting out of what we human's have determined an animal's 'normal' hours are is perfectly normal. I've worked on refuges and sanctuaries where we always saw so called 'nocturnal' animals out in broad daylight.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Couple of things come to mind:
Food.
Disturbance to its normal patterns.

Most diseased animals don't actively feed. You better set the traps and load the rifle. It'll be back.

 

[LynneP]

We're in the middle of a pine marten restoration area, so all of us who want to keep our birds must use extreme predator protection- see BYC home page link to see what we did. We also have all the other usuals (raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, black bears, cougars, skunks) and raptors in great numbers. They are very cute, from a distance. Some are remarkably large.

A fisher cat(marten) down the hill from here killed the last 4 chickens a friend had left of her flock, in daylight. It was a new animal settling in a huge pine tree area near a stream. That's where they prefer to be, and older juveniles are relocating at this time of year to prepare for spring nesting. They will give ease of predation primary concern, so this animal will return. Now in our district it's illegal to harm them in any way, so it boils down to coop and run construction. They are persistent, magnificent hunters. They also kill housepets, and I suspect this one of getting many of the ferals that come to our barn.

You seldom find a body- they often bite off the head then drag the carcass up a pine tree to devour later. They have an eerie scream, like nothing you have ever heard before. Articles will say they are nocturnal but that is not the case here.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Marten