Fossa

Madagascar · carnivore · cat-like

Cat-like hunter. The fossa looks like a slim, graceful cat crossed with a weasel, with powerful legs built for leaping and climbing through forest trees. It's the largest meat-eating mammal in Madagascar, perfectly designed to hunt lemurs and other forest creatures.

Only in Madagascar. Fossas live nowhere else on Earth except the island of Madagascar, off the coast of Africa. This makes them special and unique to that island, like many of Madagascar's incredible animals.

Amazing hunters. With sharp claws, strong jaws, and incredible agility, fossas are expert hunters that can chase prey through treetops and rocky areas. They hunt during both day and night, making them some of Madagascar's most successful predators.

Super-long tail. The fossa's long, flexible tail is almost as long as its body and helps it balance when climbing and jumping through trees. It's like a built-in balancing pole that lets it move with incredible precision and speed.

Rare family member. Fossas belong to a unique family of carnivores called Eupleridae that is found only in Madagascar, and they're actually distantly related to cats and weasels. Scientists find fossas especially interesting because they show how animals evolved differently on Madagascar than almost anywhere else.