The Fossa
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
The Fossa
Predator of Madagascar
Classification & Evolution
The fossa is a medium-sized carnivore that lives in the dense, tropical forests of Madagascar. Cryptoprocta ferox is the scientific name of the fossa. They belong to a group called the Malagasy carnivore group, which were thought to be descended up to 24-million years ago from Mongoose-like ancestors! The fossa belongs to the Animalia kingdom, Chordata Phylum, Mammalia class, Carnivora order, and finally the family Eupleridae. Its name was derived from Latin fossa, which means ditch, trench, or dug out of Earth. The fossa is the largest and one of the ancient animals from Madagascar, also meaning that it is Madagascar's largest mammalian predator! Until recently, the fossa was thought to be a primitive species of feline because of it's cat-like features. Sadly, due to the habitat loss, the fossa is rare and now considered endangered in it's natural surroundings.
Anatomy & Appearance
Madagascar's largest land predator is the fossa. From their snout to their tail, some fossas can grow up to 2 metres long! The length of it's tail is about the same length as it's body, which is very important because it uses it as balance. The fossa has a reddish-brown fur all around it's body. Even though the fossa is related to the Mongoose, it has a dog-like snout and a cat-like head, and pertains to incredibly feline-like features. They have webbed feet with curved, retractable claws, which help the fossa to stay on and move to and fro on the branches of a tree.
Distribution & Habitat
The fossa lives only on the island of Madagascar, and is found no where else in the world! With plenty of space and food sources, the fossas live in dense, forested areas. This enables the fossa to establish it's large territory. Because of the extensive deforestation, the fossas cannot be found where they previously lived- all over the island- from coastal low-lands, to mountain regions. Instead, now they are restricted to a tiny portion of their once vast natural range. Madagascar's fossa populations have been severely affected by growing human settlements because they are often hunted by farmers who fear for their livestock.
Fossa Behaviour & Lifestyle
Being a solitary and nocturnal mammal, the fossa marks their presence with a scent produced from their large anal gland. The fossas patrol their territory, which can be up to 4 kilometres long! Although the fossa is known to move about and hunt on the ground, it spends most of it's life high up in the trees. Their long, slender, tail helps them to be agile at both climbing and leaping. Because of their flat soles of their feet, fossas are more stable and balanced when landing precariously on branches. A fossa only hunts during the day when there is a lack of food, but usually spends daylight hours resting in caves, trees, or abandoned termite mounds. This is due to the fact that fossas are nocturnal.
Diet & Prey
Being the largest carnivorous mammal on Madagascar, it only eats other animals in the surrounding forest. Half of the fossa's diet comprises on lemurs. They can also eat lizards, frogs, rodents, reptiles, birds, and small domestic animals like pig and poultry. The fossa has a dark coat which helps it to be camouflaged at night when hunting. They silently stalk, then leap powerfully at their prey. The retractable claws are not blunted when on so it helps all the more to be more successful when hunting.
Predators & Threats
The fossa has no predator since it is the largest one in Madagascar, although it can rarely be eaten by a stray crocodile. Humans pose the biggest threat not only because they hunt them to protect their livestock, but because they destroyed 90% of the fossa's once large, natural range. Deforestation and the clearing of land declined an enormous amount of population numbers. Fossas require large, solitary, home ranges, and are relatively slow at developing, so numbers are thought to continue to fall.
Relationship With Humans
Most of the incredible, unique, flora and fauna that once existed in Madagascar are now extinct. Ever since humans came to Madagascar, they exploited the island and left just 10% of the tropical rainforest that should be there. Land clearance for agriculture (examples palm oil plantations), and deforestation for the expensive, tropical trees led to a huge decline in numbers of the fossa, and many other animals as well. Another reason there is a lower amount of fossas left is because local farmers hunt them to protect their livestock.
Fun Facts!
Did you know that...
-Fossas are most related to the animal called Mongoose, although it looks much different!
-Fossas have retractable claws, so when climbing trees they can easily stay on and jump off!
-Recently, the Giant fossa has been discovered. The BIGGEST Giant fossa fossil was nearly six metres long and weighed around 17 kg!
-It's extremely rare that the fossa's intended prey will escape successfully! Once the fossa's prey is spotted, it better watch out... the fossa is quick to catch, and determined!
-The fossa is incredibly agile when running on tree tops because of such high speed.
As you can see, the fossa is a very diverse, unique creature. With only less than 2,500 individuals left in the wild, we must work together to maintain it's natural environment and save the fossa from extinction!
Fossa Collage
These Diverse Creatures Deserve Our Help, No Matter What It Takes.
