Fossa (animal): description, photo, lifestyle in the wild

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

Fossa is a large predatory animal that belongs to the Madagascar civet family. On the island of Madagascar, this beast is the largest and most dangerous predator. Aborigines are sure that fosses can kill a person, in addition, animals ruin farms.

Locals exterminate predators and even eat their meat. So, despite the fact that the fossa has no natural enemies due to its large size, its numbers are greatly affected by cruel human interference.

Fossa (animal): description

The appearance of the fossa is quite unusual, it is the rarest animal. Compared to other predators, it resembles a small cougar, which has the features of a civet.

This strong beast is called the Madagascar lion in its homeland, mostly due to the fact that its ancestors were much larger than their contemporaries. The fossa animal, which currently lives on the entire known island, reaches a length of 65-75 cm, does notcounting the tail (55-65 cm) The body is muscular, massive. The long limbs are just as strong and massive, while the front legs are noticeably shorter than the hind legs. A distinctive feature of the Madagascar predator is the special glands that are located in the anus. It is they who secrete an unusual substance, the smell of which cannot be confused with anything. The substance exudes such a disgusting "aroma" that with its help the beast is able to strike the victim on the spot. So, at least, say the locals.

The coat of the fossa (animal) is short, but very thick. The color of the hairline of the head is red, the body is covered with dark red hair with a brown tint.

Fossa - a large predatory animal of Madagascar

Probably, there is no person who would not know the popular cartoon "Madagascar". In this fascinating story, the lemurs living on the island were horrified to the point of losing consciousness at the mere mention of a terrible beast called fossa. This is not a fictional creature at all, as you now know, a fossa is an animal that really lives on the island of Madagascar. A rather large predator, of course, can scare not only defenseless lemurs, but also people. In the natural environment, you can see such a formidable beast only on the territory of Madagascar. This most beautiful corner of the earth surprises us with both flora and fauna.

Lifestyle

Fossa is a terrestrial animal, but when you watch his skillful and confident movements along the branches and trunks of trees, you are convinced ofthe fact that the height also submits to the Madagascar predator. Its strong paws with sharp claws and large pads help the beast to climb trees perfectly. It balances at a height with the help of a flexible body and a long tail.

Fossa leads a solitary lifestyle, but during the mating season, the animal has to look for a companion, however, for a very short time, and rivals appear along with it. During the day, during the heat, the fossa prefers to rest in its lair, and at dusk and at night it is time to hunt. The voice of a predator, especially when the animal is excited and alarmed, resembles the growl of an angry big cat. Zoologists, observing these amazing creatures in the wild, claim that the average fossa can live 16-20 years.

Diet

If we look at the "dish" in the menu of fossa, which is in the first place, then these are the well-known shy Madagascar lemurs. If the predator manages to catch a prey that is tasty for him, he firmly clamps the lemur with his front paws and at the same time tears the back of the victim's head with his fangs. The poor thing has no chance of escaping. So it's not for nothing that animals are so afraid of meeting with a natural enemy. Besides lemurs, fossa's diet includes reptiles, small mammals, birds and even insects. Although the hunter from the Madagascar lion is skilled, he rarely has to survive with insects.

Reproduction

The mating season for fossa begins in early autumn. The female is looked after by 3 or 4 males at once. On such days, it is better not to disturb the animals and, of course, not to make them angry. Predators during mating games have almost no control over theirbehavior, and their aggressiveness rolls over.

Raising offspring

Pregnancy lasts about 3 months. Cubs are born in winter (December, January). In one brood there are from 2 to 4 babies. Newborns weigh approximately 100 grams, they are blind and completely helpless. Instead of a "fur coat", as in adult predators, the bodies of the cubs are covered with a sparse and small fluff.

After two weeks, the fossa offspring opens their eyes and begins to see the world around them. At the age of 1-1.5 months, the babies make clumsy attempts to get out of the den, and after two months of age they calmly climb trees. For four months, the cubs feed on their mother's milk, but gradually the predator feeds them on meat food. Full fosses become fully grown at the age of 4 years, but they have to leave their native burrow at a year and a half. Young predators continue to learn the wisdom of life in the wild on their own.

Fossa is an endangered species

There was a period very dangerous for these animals, when, according to researchers, only about 2500 individuals remained.

At this time, Madagascar predators were marked as endangered on the pages of the Red Book. Only in 2008, the status of “vulnerable species” was returned to animals.