Fossa (animal) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fossa |
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| At the Valencia Bioparc | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Cryptoprocta
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| Species: |
ferox
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| Distribution of Cryptoprocta ferox (red-shaded area) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The fossa (pronounced FOSS-uh or FOO-suh) is a unique, cat-like mammal found only on the island of Madagascar. It has a long, slender body and a tail that helps it balance. The fossa is the biggest meat-eating mammal on Madagascar.
Fossas look a lot like small cougars because they have developed similar features to cats over time. Adult fossas are about 70 to 80 centimeters (27 to 31 inches) long, not including their tail. They weigh between 5.5 and 8.6 kilograms (12 to 19 pounds), with males usually being larger than females.
These amazing animals have claws that can be partly pulled back, like a cat's. Their ankles are super flexible, letting them climb up and down trees head-first. They can even jump from one tree to another! Fossas are found in forests all over Madagascar, but their numbers are usually low. They hunt both during the day and at night. More than half of their diet is made up of lemurs, which are also unique to Madagascar. They also eat tenrecs, rodents, lizards, and birds.
Fossa mothers usually have one to six babies, called pups. The pups are born blind and without teeth. They stay with their mother for about a year before becoming independent. Fossas can live up to 20 years in zoos. The fossa is listed as a vulnerable species, meaning its population is decreasing. The biggest threat to fossas is when their forest homes are destroyed.
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What's in a Name?
The scientific name for the fossa is Cryptoprocta ferox. The first part, Cryptoprocta, means "hidden anus" in Ancient Greek. This refers to how its anal pouch hides its anus. The second part, ferox, is a Latin word meaning "fierce" or "wild."
The common name "fossa" comes from the Malagasy word fosa. Malagasy is a language spoken in Madagascar. Some people think the word might be related to "posa," which means "cat" in a language from Borneo. This could be because of old trading languages from the 1600s.
Fossa Family Tree
For a long time, scientists argued about where the fossa fit in the animal kingdom. It has features like cats, but also like civets and mongooses. Early scientists thought it was a type of civet or even a kind of cat.
In the past, scientists used to classify animals based on how they looked. But with new tools like DNA studies, they can now see how animals are truly related. In 2003, scientists found that the fossa and all other meat-eating mammals native to Madagascar are actually closely related to each other. They form their own special family called Eupleridae. This means that all these unique Malagasy carnivores came from one ancestor that arrived on the island about 18 to 20 million years ago.
There was once a much larger relative of the fossa, called Cryptoprocta spelea, or the giant fossa. It was about twice the size of today's fossa but looked very similar. This giant fossa likely died out before the year 1400.
What Does a Fossa Look Like?
The fossa looks like a smaller version of a big cat, like a cougar. It has a slender body, strong legs, and a tail that is almost as long as its body. Its head looks a bit like a mongoose's, with a broad, short snout and large, round ears.
Fossas have medium brown eyes that are set wide apart. Their pupils can narrow into slits, like a cat's. Since they hunt at night, their eyes reflect light, glowing orange in the dark.
Their body length is about 70 to 80 cm (27 to 31 in), and their tail is 65 to 70 cm (25 to 27 in) long. Males are heavier than females, weighing 6.2 to 8.6 kg (13.7 to 19.0 lb), while females weigh 5.5 to 6.8 kg (12.1 to 15.0 lb). Fossas have excellent senses of smell, hearing, and sight.
Both male and female fossas have short, smooth fur that is reddish-brown on their backs and a dirty cream color on their bellies. Their tail is usually lighter than their sides. Young fossas are gray or almost white.
Several of the fossa's body features help it climb trees. Its long tail helps it balance. Its claws can be partly pulled back, and it uses them to grip trees while hunting. Fossas have very flexible ankles, allowing them to climb up or down trees head-first. They can even leap from one tree to another!
Where Do Fossas Live?
The fossa lives in forests all over Madagascar. They prefer forests that haven't been disturbed by humans, but they can also be found in some areas where the forest has been changed, though in smaller numbers.
Fossas live in all types of forests on Madagascar, including dry forests in the west, rainforests in the east, and spiny forests in the south. They seem to be seen more often in humid forests than in dry ones. This might be because humid forests offer more shade and are easier for them to move through. Fossas are not found in areas where forests have been heavily destroyed, or in the central highlands of Madagascar.
Fossas have been found at many different heights, from lowlands to high mountains. They can live from about 440 meters (1,440 feet) up to 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) above sea level. This shows they can adapt to different environments.
Fossa Behavior
Fossas are active both during the day and at night. They don't usually sleep in the same spot every night, but mothers with young will return to their den. Male fossas have large home ranges, up to 26 square kilometers (10 square miles), while females have smaller ranges, about 13 square kilometers (5 square miles). These areas can overlap. Fossas usually travel between 2 and 5 kilometers (1.2 to 3.1 miles) each day.
Fossas usually live alone, except for mothers with their young, or sometimes a pair of males. However, there have been rare observations of male fossas hunting together. In one case, three male fossas worked together to hunt a large lemur. This might be a leftover behavior from when they used to hunt much larger, now extinct, lemurs.
Fossas communicate using sounds, smells, and body language. They can purr, make threatening calls, and yelp loudly to attract other fossas. They also leave scent marks on rocks, trees, and the ground using special glands.
What Do Fossas Eat?
The fossa is a carnivore, meaning it eats meat. It hunts small to medium-sized animals. It is the largest native predator on Madagascar and the only animal that can hunt adult lemurs, including the biggest species.
[[Multiple image|direction=vertical|align=left|image1=Microcebus murinus -Artis Zoo, Amsterdam, Netherlands-8c.jpg|image2=Diademed ready to push off.jpg|width=200|caption2=The fossa's diet includes small- (gray mouse lemur, above) to medium-sized (diademed sifaka, below) mammals.]] Scientists study what fossas eat by looking at their droppings, called scats. These scats are gray, cylinder-shaped, and twisted at the ends. Studies show that lemurs make up over 50% of a fossa's diet. They also eat tenrecs, lizards, birds, and other small mammals. Sometimes, they might eat seeds, but these probably come from the stomachs of the lemurs they eat.
Fossas hunt both on the ground and in trees. When hunting in groups, one fossa might climb a tree and chase lemurs down to the ground, where another fossa can easily catch them. Fossas are known to remove the insides of larger lemurs they catch. They are very adaptable hunters, which helps them survive in different parts of Madagascar.
Fossas have also been known to hunt domestic animals like chickens, goats, and small calves. In zoos, they eat amphibians, birds, insects, reptiles, and small to medium-sized mammals.
Fossa Life Cycle
Most of what we know about fossa reproduction comes from studies in the dry forests of western Madagascar.
Fossa mothers give birth to one to six pups, but usually two to four. They have their babies in hidden places like underground dens, termite mounds, rock crevices, or hollow trees. Pups are born in December or January. They are blind and toothless and weigh less than 100 grams (3.5 ounces).
After about two weeks, the pups' eyes open, and they become more active. Their fur changes from gray-brown or white to a darker pearl gray. The pups start eating solid food when they are three months old and leave the den at about 4.5 months. They are weaned (stop drinking milk) soon after that.
Young fossas become independent from their mother after their first year. Their permanent teeth grow in when they are 18 to 20 months old. They reach full physical size by about two years of age, but they can't have their own babies until they are three or four years old. Fossas can live for more than 20 years in zoos.
Fossas and Humans
The fossa is listed as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN Red List. This means their population has likely dropped by at least 30% between 1987 and 2008. The biggest threat to fossas is the widespread destruction of Madagascar's forests.
Even though fossas are found across Madagascar, they are rare in all areas. This makes them very vulnerable to extinction. Scientists estimate that there are fewer than 2,500 adult fossas living in protected areas. For the species to survive, large areas of forest need to be protected.
In Madagascar, there are traditional beliefs called fady that sometimes help protect fossas. In some areas, people fear fossas and believe they are dangerous animals that steal chickens, piglets, and even children. Because of this, some people won't eat fossa meat, fearing they will get its bad qualities. However, in other areas, fossas are hunted for food. They are usually caught using slingshots, dogs, or traps.
Near some national parks, fossas are known to scavenge on the bodies of ancestors buried in shallow graves. Because of this, eating fossas is strictly forbidden by fady in those areas. But if fossas wander into villages looking for chickens, they might be killed or trapped.
Fossas are sometimes kept in zoos. The first fossas bred in captivity were in France in 1974. A zoo in Germany later started a very successful breeding program, and most fossas in zoos today are related to those animals. Studying fossas in zoos has helped scientists learn a lot about them.
The fossa was shown as a villain in the 2005 DreamWorks animated movie Madagascar. In the movie, they were called "foosa" and were accurately shown as the lemurs' most feared predators.
