Minnesota Zoo visitors get chance to see fisher kittens

Minnesota Zoo

The Minnesota Zoo is one of only four in the county to display fisher kittens, zoo officials said.

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: April 18, 2008 - 9:52 AM

Few people ever get the chance to see a fisher kitten because they are nocturnal, solitary, elusive and live in dense forests. Visitors to the Minnesota Zoo will soon get a chance to see three of the kittens that were born March 23. Zoo officials announced their births Thursday and said the newborns will roam the Minnesota Trail after they bond with their mother and acclimate to "off-exhibit" surroundings.

It's not clear if the fishers are male or female, zoo officials said. But they are the first fisher kittens born at the zoo in nine years.

Known for their tree-climbing, hunting and agility, fisher cats resemble house cats in general body size and shape, but they have shorter legs and a longer, wedge- shaped snout. They are the second largest member of the weasel family. Fisher cats nearly disappeard because of trapping and logging practices in the 1880s. But since the 1950s their numbers have risen, especially in Alaska, Canada and in wooded and forested areas of the northern United States.

The Minnesota Zoo is one of only four in the country to display fisher cats, zoo officials said.