A tree-climbing carnivorous mammal of Madagascar forests.
It has short reddish-brown fur, rounded ears and a long tail roughly matching its body length.
Researchers studied fossa mating in Kirindy Forest, western Madagascar. During a 17-day observation period in November 1995, males and females gathered in trees at two sites about 3 km apart. Three females used the sites in sequence, staying for one to six days and mating with four or five males each. They sometimes mated repeatedly with the same male. Mating occupied about half the time females were observed in trees.
Males sometimes remained near a female after mating, and they also chased one another around the sites. Fossas usually live alone and do not regularly use dens. The researchers proposed that tree mating sites may help this low-density species find partners.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species · Vulnerable (VU) · Global
The global IUCN assessment published in 2016 classified the fossa as Vulnerable (VU), based on an assessment dated 21 February 2015. It recorded a decreasing population trend and identified forest loss and fragmentation, hunting, killing in response to livestock losses, and effects of introduced carnivores as threats. These findings describe the 2015 assessment.