A fisher, a weasel-like mammal not documented in Cuyahoga County since the 1800s, has been captured on a Cleveland Metroparks trail camera.
This marks the first confirmed sighting of the species in the county in more than 200 years.
“The return of fishers and other extirpated species like otters, bobcats and trumpeter swans are a result of conservation efforts and emphasize the importance of our healthy forests, wetlands, waterways and natural areas in Cleveland Metroparks,” the park system said.
According to CBS News, fishers disappeared from Ohio in the mid-1800s due to widespread deforestation and unregulated hunting. The species’ return to Cuyahoga County follows a pattern of gradual recolonization across the state, with 56 documented sightings across eight Ohio counties since the first modern Ohio sighting in 2013.
Metroparks officials said the reappearance is “tremendously exciting,” marking another native species once wiped out in Ohio to naturally return to the region.