Fossa  (Cryptoprocta ferox)

Fossas are active during the day and night and, with the exception of the breeding season, they are generally solitary (6). Both males and females occupy territories, which are scent marked with anal gland secretions, and vary in size depending on the abundance of prey species (6). Fossas have an extremely unusual mating system, a receptive female will occupy a tree below which males congregate, fighting and calling to the female (2). Over the period of a week the female will mate with a number of different males, and copulation bouts can sometimes last for over 2.5 hours (4). A new female then arrives and replaces the original one, mating with the gathered males in her turn (2). The mating season runs from September to November, and between 2 and 4 young are born in a den three months after copulation (6). The young are initially blind and helpless, opening their eyes after 15 days; they remain with their mother until they are 15 - 20 months old (4).

Fossas feed on a wide variety of small mammals, birds and reptiles (4). In high mountain areas, small mammals such as tenrecs feature heavily in the diet, whilst in forest areas lemurs can make up more than 50% of prey items (7). The fossa's long tail provides balance for pursing this agile prey through the trees (2), and pairs may cooperate to catch larger prey (6).