Fossa

Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) has the scientific name Cryptoprocta ferox, belongs to the order Carnivora, family Eupleridae and is the only member of the genus Cryptoprocta.
It is an endemic species of the island of Madagascar that prefers mountainous regions, at altitudes up to 2600 m. Fassa or Fossa is the name of a carnivorous animal, the largest of the island of Madagascar, and which is a cross between puma and small Sable.
Locals call it the Madagascar lion probably because it comes from wild animals that had the length of a lion's body.

Fossa Food

Fossa has a somewhat unusual appearance, its body is up to 70-90 cm long, shoulder height 30-35 cm and weight 7-12 kg. The female is always smaller than the male and has less weight.
The entire body is covered with thick fur, consisting of short hairs in shades of darker or lighter brown-reddish colors. In the female, the coat color is slightly brighter than in the male, in beige or cream tones.
The tail is quite long, it measures as much as the length of the body, or it is slightly smaller.
The forelimbs and hind limbs are quite short, ending with strong paws that have five fingers each provided with retractable claws like felines. The head is round, the ears are large, have rounded edges. The eyes are large and almond-shaped, and the snout robust and rather long.
Numerous pairs of long, light-colored, thin and very sensitive vibrissae appear on the upper lip. Their role is to enable the cat to orient itself more easily in its natural environment.
Like other prey animals, fossa has strong masticatory muscles, strong mandible, jaws endowed with sharp teeth, canines, incisors, premolars and molars.

Fossa Behavior

Such carnivorous animals are the strongest Predators on the island of Madagascar.
To capture their prey, they climb trees, run on the ground, dig into rodent burrows, make extensive jumps balancing their bodies with the help of long tails both day and night.
To rest they sit on the thick branches of trees or hide in caves and burrows made at the roots of secular trees.
Fossa is a very agile animal, can perform jumps from tree to tree, from this point of view being very similar to squirrels. In appearance and behavior, it looks more like cats.
Sometimes the fossa is compared to the spotted leopard, a feline native to Southeast Asia. Fossa is closely related to the mongoose.
Although they were thought to be nocturnal animals, recent scientific research has shown that they are active both day and night, depending on the season and the "availability" of prey.
One of the favorite biotopes of these mammals is the dense forests of Madagascar. The most suitable place where they can be found is Kirindy Forest, located about 70 km from Morondava.

Fossa Breeding

During the mating season (which takes place from September to the end of November) males are aggressive to each other, attacking, biting with teeth and scratching with sharp claws for females.
Copulation between male and female lasts about 2 hours, and the gestation period is 6-7 weeks. The female generally makes a number of 3-4 cubs that at birth are helpless, do not see and weigh about 100 g.
At no more than a month the puppies begin to see and are breastfed for 4 months. Then being quite well developed they begin to come out of the burrow and learn with the help of the mother to hunt prey.
Thus they remain with the female until the age of 1-2 years and reach sexual maturity only at 3-4 years.
Fossa puppies are born blind and toothless. They depend on their mothers until they are almost a year old, and up to four months they never leave the nest.
Life expectancy at fossa in Madagascar is about 20 years in captivity and less in the wild.
Fossa is a species in danger of extinction, the number of specimens has greatly decreased in recent years due to the destruction of the natural habitat and excessive wind.