To be able to move and track animals we must first trap them. We use wire-mesh box style traps with a cubby, or nest, box attached to the back. The cubby box provides shelter and a sense of security to animals while they are in the trap. We bait the traps with chicken, fish, or catfood and place a long-distance scent lure near the trap site. Traps are checked at least once in a 24 hour period while they are out though we sometimes check more often in the situation warrants it. If we capture something other than a fisher we note the species and let it go immediately. When we capture a fisher we keep it at the capture site until we check all traps. Then we return and bring the fisher to a central processing area where we generally have a remote lab provided by CDFG Wildlife Investigations Lab (WIL)Â where we collect valuable data on the animals and give it a transmitter.
Box trap and wooden cubby box attached
Scott Yaeger (wearing the hat) and Richard Callas preparing to move a trap with a fisher inside
Northern Sierra Fisher Reintroduction 