Fossa - hunting lemurs in Madagascar

FossaThe Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) lives on the island of Madagascar, being the largest mammalian carnivore on the island. Although they resemble a crossing between a cat and a dog, it is actually related to the mongoose. The Fossa is very agile and is very adept at hunting lemurs. In the movie Madagascar the lemurs shivered at the mere mention of the Fossae. Together with the Boa constrictor, they are the only predators of lemurs. Apart from the Nile Crocodile, they have no natural predators themselves. Yet the settlement of man and the destruction of their habitat earned the Fossa the status of 'endangered'.

Picture: Photographed by User:Dawson, licensed under ShareAlike License v. 2.5

Keywords: retractable claw

Which zoos have them?
Artis (Netherlands) and Los Angeles Zoo (United States)

The Fossa is listed as Endangered (EN), considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild, on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Countries
Madagascar
Some facts about the
Fossa

Adult weight : 9.5 kg (20.9 lbs)

Maximum longevity : 23 years

Female maturity :1496 days

Gestation : 90 days

Weaning : 129 days

Litter size : 3

Weight at birth : 0.1 kg (0.22 lbs)

Source: AnAge, licensed under CC

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