Description

• Physical description

  • The Fossa can grow up to six feet long from nose to tail tip and can weigh up to 26 pounds

  • Reddish-brown coat color

  • Very long tail

  • Have semi-retractable claws

• Key characteristics

  • Fossas are ambush hunters

  • They have scent glands that release a stinky smell when the animal is irritated or frightened

  • Their tails are about as long as their bodies

• Fossas generally live for 15 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity

• Males are bigger than the females if they hunt cooperatively, but if they are single hunters then they are about the same size as females