Fossa
Conservation Messaging Opportunities
Physical features
They can have a total body length of 6 feet, including the tail (1.8 meters).
A fossa’s tail can be 27-35 inches and makes up about half of their total length.
Males weigh 13-22 lbs (6-10 kg); Females weigh 11-15 lbs (5-7 kg).
Fossa have a short brownish-gold colored coat.
They have a large bulbous nose and pronounced whiskers.
Fossa have semi-retractable claws.
Fossa are extremely adept at climbing trees, their large, hairless footpads allowing them to get a better grip on branches, with their long tail also acting as a balance organ.
Fossa are active throughout both day and night but are typically inactive during the hottest or coldest parts of the day and night.
They appear to preferentially hunt at night, and based on studies from the western dry forests more than 50% of their diet was found to be large, diurnal lemurs.
They are solitary and appear to require a large home range.
Females require less area but appear highly territorial in relation to other females. Occasionally males are observed together and male home-ranges overlap other males and females.
Range and Habitat
Range – endemic to Madagascar
Habitat – undisturbed forests throughout the island from sea level to 2600 m; Fossa are not found in central Madagascar due to lack of existing habitat.
Diet: Carnivore
Wild – Practically any small to medium-sized animal they can kill such as fish, birds, mice, wild pigs, and lemurs; Fossa are the primary predators of lemurs, which is their favorite prey item.
Zoo – Nebraska brand whole carcass ground beef, mice, rabbits, and chicken
Lifespan
Wild – unknown
Zoo – up to 20 years
Reproduction
Because they are solitary animals, they typically are only seen together during breeding or as females with pups.
Females typically breed every other year from September to November.
Males will congregate below a tree in which a receptive female inhabits. During the course of a week, she will mate with several males. Mating bouts can last up to 2.5 hours.
A litter of 2-4 pups is born after a gestation of 90 days. Pups are born blind and toothless and develop slowly. Their eyes open between 16-25 days. Fossa pups will not leave then den until they are about 4 months old. They are not weaned until they are almost 5 months old, and they remain fully dependent on their mother for the first year of life.
Fossa reach sexual maturity between 3-4 years old.
Conservation: Vulnerable
Protected under CITES Appendix II.
Major threats: habitat loss due to logging and agriculture, killed as pests (because they prey on domestic fowl), impact of feral dogs (as a predator, competition, and spread of disease), and trade.
Over the past 21 years there has been at least a 30% reduction in the population. The estimated wild population consists of less than 2,500 individuals.
Fossa may be considered valuable as a local medicinal remedy.
Interpretive Information
Fossa are closely related to mongooses and civets.
The fossa is the only carnivore in Madagascar that is able to prey on the largest lemur species.
Fossa are ambush hunters and the largest carnivores in Madagascar.
Adolescent females go through a phase known as masculinisation. During this phase female reproductive organs resemble those of males.
You may remember them from the movie Madagascar.
References
ARKive. 2010. Fossa. <http://www.arkive.org/fossa/cryptoprocta-ferox/threats-and-conservation.html> Accessed on 14 April 2010.
Hawkins, A.F.A. & Dollar, L. (2008). Cryptoprocta ferox. Retrieved May 2, 2010, from the 2010 IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species Web Site: http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/5760/0
San Diego Zoo. (2010). Mammals: Fossa. Retrieved May 2, 2010 from the San Diego Zoo Web Site: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-fossa.html
World Association of Zoos and Aquariums 2011. Fossa. http://www.waza.org/en/zoo/visit-the-zoo/small-carnivores-1254385523/cryptoprocta-ferox
Updated May 2010