Post by Lady Trapper on Feb 28, 2007 20:35:39 GMT -5
Rabid Fisher Attacks Woman
GLENVILLE---A Glenville woman who was taking out the garbage was attacked by a rabid fisher Monday night and is now undergoing treatment.
Louise Scheueman, 61, of Glenville said she heard a loud growl and started running back through her garage, with the two-foot long, 12-pound wild animal, a member of the weasel family, chasing her. The animal sank its one-inch fangs into the woman's foot and she beat it about the head with a fire extinguisher until it let go of her foot and ran off after first entering Scheuman's house.
Police were able to track the fisher in the snow and shot and killed it about a half mile from the Scheueman home.
The carcass was taken to a state lab where environmental conservation officials determined it had rabies.
There are reports that earlier Monday evening an animal had been aggressive towards a dog.
Fishers are usually nocturnal. A fisher's home range is usually about 10 square miles and may overlap with the home ranges of a number of other fishers. It uses scent to mark its territory. A fisher moves around its home range frequently, following well-used trails, traveling both on the ground and through the trees. The fisher makes its den in crevices, under bushes, in logs and in trees. In the winter it sometimes will use a den in the snow. The fisher is a very good swimmer and excellent climber.
Fishers are mainly carnivorous, usually hunting animals that are the same size or smaller than it is. Common prey of the fisher includes chipmunks, shrews, snowshoe hares and porcupines. Fishers are also known to attack family pets such as pets and small dogs.
When it preys on porcupines, it attacks the porcupine's face repeatedly until the porcupine is weakened from trying to defend itself. It will eat the porcupine's organs first and save the rest of the kill to eat over the next couple of days. Fishers don't always win battles with porcupines and they are sometimes badly injured or killed by the porcupine's quills. The fisher also eats fruits, berries, plants and carrion. The fisher, despite its name, rarely eats fish.
GLENVILLE---A Glenville woman who was taking out the garbage was attacked by a rabid fisher Monday night and is now undergoing treatment.
Louise Scheueman, 61, of Glenville said she heard a loud growl and started running back through her garage, with the two-foot long, 12-pound wild animal, a member of the weasel family, chasing her. The animal sank its one-inch fangs into the woman's foot and she beat it about the head with a fire extinguisher until it let go of her foot and ran off after first entering Scheuman's house.
Police were able to track the fisher in the snow and shot and killed it about a half mile from the Scheueman home.
The carcass was taken to a state lab where environmental conservation officials determined it had rabies.
There are reports that earlier Monday evening an animal had been aggressive towards a dog.
Fishers are usually nocturnal. A fisher's home range is usually about 10 square miles and may overlap with the home ranges of a number of other fishers. It uses scent to mark its territory. A fisher moves around its home range frequently, following well-used trails, traveling both on the ground and through the trees. The fisher makes its den in crevices, under bushes, in logs and in trees. In the winter it sometimes will use a den in the snow. The fisher is a very good swimmer and excellent climber.
Fishers are mainly carnivorous, usually hunting animals that are the same size or smaller than it is. Common prey of the fisher includes chipmunks, shrews, snowshoe hares and porcupines. Fishers are also known to attack family pets such as pets and small dogs.
When it preys on porcupines, it attacks the porcupine's face repeatedly until the porcupine is weakened from trying to defend itself. It will eat the porcupine's organs first and save the rest of the kill to eat over the next couple of days. Fishers don't always win battles with porcupines and they are sometimes badly injured or killed by the porcupine's quills. The fisher also eats fruits, berries, plants and carrion. The fisher, despite its name, rarely eats fish.