Fossa: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Hunters · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. Lemurs make up more than half of everything a fossa eats.
2. Semi-retractable claws and ultra-flexible ankles let a fossa scramble head-first up trunks and launch between trees.
3. In Kirindy Forest, a male fossa's home range can reach 26 km², double the 13 km² of a female.
4. Radio-collared fossas trek 2-5 km each day, and one covered a straight-line 7 km in just 16 hours.
5. A fossa litter has one to six pups. They are born blind and toothless, and weigh no more than 100 g.

The quiz

1. What makes up more than half of a fossa's diet?

• Fish
• Lemurs (correct)
• Fruit
• Insects

Lemurs make up more than half of what a fossa eats.

2. How does a fossa climb tree trunks?

• Head-first (correct)
• Tail-first
• Only by jumping from rocks
• Slowly with its teeth

A fossa scrambles head-first up trunks.

3. How large can a male fossa's home range be in Kirindy Forest?

• Up to 2 km²
• Up to 13 km²
• Up to 260 km²
• Up to 26 km² (correct)

In Kirindy Forest a male's home range can reach 26 km², double a female's.

4. How far do radio-collared fossas trek each day?

• 20-50 m
• 12-15 km
• 2-5 km (correct)
• 100-200 km

They trek 2-5 km each day.

5. How much does a newborn fossa weigh at most?

• 10 g
• 100 g (correct)
• 1 kg
• 5 kg

Newborns weigh no more than 100 g.

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