The Official Houston Zoo Blog

Menacing-eyed fossa

The forests of Madagascar house a lemur-eating predator with retractable claws, a long, thick tail, and menacing amber eyes. With no natural predators on the island, the fossa seems to do what it pleases; it is active both day and night, depending on how it feels on that particular day, it attacks its prey ambush-style, and it maneuvers through the branches of a tree just as easily as it runs along the flat forest floor.

Although much research on fossas began in the 1830s, still relatively little is known about this odd, yet somewhat endearing, cat-weasel-like creature. In fact, scientists have struggled to even observe the fossa in the wild – its agility in the tree branches allows it to move at such high speeds, it is difficult to get a good perspective on its character and lifestyle.

Originally thought to be a variety of wild cat, the fossa has been determined by researchers to have shared a common ancestor with the mongoose. Its central source of food in its natural habitat is lemur, with the fossa’s long tail and sharp claws helping it to balance, cling, and jump through the trees quickly and efficiently.

When female fossas are close to giving birth, they often conveniently construct a den out of a hollowed-out log or an ancient termite mound they come across in their forest habitat. Each litter is comprised of two to four pups that excessively rely on their mother for survival, as they are born with both closed eyes and toothless mouths. Fossa babies become independent after a year with their mothers and don’t stop growing until they reach the age of two.

But because of human influence, two has become an age that not many more fossas may live to see. People have cleared out so much of Madagascar’s exclusive forests that less than 10% of the animals’ natural island habitat still remains intact. Many fossas are also killed by angry locals when they feed on farm chickens and by rabies spread by domestic dogs. Although such factors have caused these creatures to become endangered, funds generated by ecotourism and the fact that they are now protected from export and trade may help fossas get back on their feet as the top predators of their island home.

Writer: Stefanie Hanselka

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