Animal of the Week

This week's animal is the fossa. The fossa is brown and cat-like, but is related to the mongoose family (herpestidae). They live only on the Afican island of Madagascar. They are the largest carnivore on the island, and spend much of their time in the canopy. Their tails aid them in climbing, because they are long and slender, reaching a length almost as long as the fossa's body. They have very flexible ankles, so that they can grip trees in many positions. Fossas are active both in the day and at night. They can eat any small to medium sized animals, including many types of lemurs and even (if they can catch them) birds! The fossa really is an amazing animal!