Rare discovery in Cleveland Metroparks marks a wildlife return not seen in centuries

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A wildlife camera in the Cleveland Metroparks has captured a sight not documented in Cuyahoga County for well over a century: a fisher, a once-vanished native mammal long believed to be gone from Ohio, the park system announced Saturday in an Instagram post .

Metroparks officials said the elusive animal was identified earlier this year by Wildlife Management Coordinator Andy Burmesch who reviewed the footage and alerted state experts. The Ohio Division of Wildlife later verified the sighting, confirming it as the county’s first recorded fisher since the species disappeared in the 1800s.

The Cleveland Metroparks said fishers, medium-sized forest mammals related to weasels and otters, were eradicated in Ohio by the mid-1800s due to unregulated trapping and widespread ha