The fisher is a medium-size mammal native to North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. It is a member of the mustelid

Mustelidae

Mustelidae , commonly referred to as the weasel family, are a family of carnivorous mammals. Mustelids are diverse and the largest family in the order Carnivora, at least partly because in the past it has been a catch-all category for many early or poorly differentiated taxa...

 family, commonly referred to as the weasel family. The fisher is closely related to but larger than the American Marten

American Marten

The American marten is a North American member of the family Mustelidae, sometimes referred to as the pine marten. The name "pine marten" is derived from the common but distinct Eurasian species of Martes...

 (Martes americana). The fisher is a forest-dwelling creature whose range covers much of the boreal forest in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 to the northern fringes of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Names derived from aboriginal languages include pekan, pequam, and wejack.