Taxidermy: A North American Fisher (Pekania pennanti), circa 2008, a superb quality large adult male with head turning slightly to the right, stood upon a tree branch, mounted upon a frosted soil covered wall hanging display, from the wall 38cm, overall height 93cm, Despite the name "fisher", the animal is not known to eat fish. The name is instead related to the word "fitch", meaning a European Polecat (Mustela putorius) or pelt thereof, due to the resemblance to that animal. The name comes from colonial Dutch equivalent fisse or visse. In the French language, the pelt of a polecat is also called fiche or fichet. Alternatively, Dr. James DeKay, as reported by John James Audubon and John Bachman, claimed the name "fisher" may have been attributed to the animal's "singular fondness for the fish used to bait traps", although this may have been local lore.