"Elusive Fishers Return To Pacific Northwest"

"MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. — The elusive weasel-like mammal poked its head out of the wooden crate, glanced around and quickly darted into the thick forest of Mount Rainier National Park – returning to a landscape where it had been missing for seven decades.

One by one, 10 Pacific fishers that had been trapped in British Columbia were set free at the park south of Seattle as part of a multiyear effort to reintroduce the native species to its historical range.

A large crowd gathered Friday to herald the return of the dark-brown member of the weasel family with its lush fur and bushy tail. They cheered, clapped, and hooted, and First Nations and American Indian tribal members sang and drummed, as each crate door was lifted and a fisher streaked out of sight across the snowy ground."

Phuong Le reports for the Associated Press December 5, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"Pacific Fisher Reintroduction: Not Just An Ecological Victory, But A Cultural One" (Christian Science Monitor)