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FOSSA Cryptoprocta ferox Habitat Throughout Madagascar and on the small island of Sant-Marie off the coast of Madagascar. Fossas live in dense forests including mountainous regions up to 2600m in altitude and avoid treeless habitats. Characteristics • Fossas are colored a reddish-brown that fades to cream on the underside. They can grow up to 6 feet in length from nose to tail tip and usually weigh between 7-12kg. • The overall body shape and many characteristics, including its retractable claws and even the molars, resemble that of a cat, however the low-slung body and the shape of its skull place the fossa in the Viverridae family along with meerkats, civets and genets. • Although small, fossas are surprisingly powerful. Their size makes them fast and agile and the long tail, usually equal in length to their body, improves their balance in trees. Facts • Solitary animals, fossas are good at hiding and spend most of the time on ground and in the trees. Because they are so shy, scientists have a difficult time studying and observing the mammal. • They are the top predator on Madagascar, and are fierce and ferocious hunters willing to eat any small to medium sized animal they can catch. • Because lemurs, the favored prey of the fossa, are cathemeral (active at any time of the day or night), so is the fossa. • Fossas are one of eight native predators on Madagascar, so they play a key role in the ecosystem by keeping the population of its prey in check. Without the fossa, plant growth would dramatically change with the surge of herbivorous species, including lemurs, and many animals lower on the food chain would face extinction as well. • Loss of habitat is the biggest threat to the endangered fossa. Madagascar is home to approximately 200,000 known animal species, 80 percent unique to the island. Humans have had a huge impact on the ecology of Madagascar; today, less than 10 percent of the original forest cover, the fossa’s only habitat, remains.