Fossa
An endangered animal, this is Madagascar’s “big cat”
The native fauna of Madagascar bears very little resemblance to that of the neighbouring continent of Africa, due to the separation event that occurred around 160 million years ago. A lot of divergent evolution has happened since then!
The fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) is an animal that occupies the “big cat” niche in Madagascar’s fauna, although it belongs to a more primitive family of animals that includes civets, genets and mongooses.
Like a big cat, the fossa is lithe and agile and hunts by stalking and pouncing on its prey. It is muscular, powerful and an excellent climber.
An adult fossa measures 23–30 inches (60–75 cms) in length and stands 22–28 inches (55–70 cms) tall. It weighs 21–31 pounds (9.5–14 kgs).
Fossas are solitary animals that hunt by day or night. A fossa will patrol an area of 1.5 square miles (4 square kms) or more, which means that the species has a low population density and individuals are not easily seen.
Fossas originality hunted members of another of Madagascar’s unique animal groups, the lemurs, but as numbers of the latter have declined, fossas have been forced to take pigs, poultry and other domesticated animals. That has made them targets for persecution by humans which, together with…