Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

Blurb from the Author: I don’t know if everyone has seen the movie “Madagascar”, but if you have I am sure you have heard the lemurs yelling about how they fear the fossa. Well, they have good reason because the fossa’s favorite food is lemur! I honestly picked the fossa because the name is really fun to say and they are only found on the island of Madagascar. The population is in a steady decline due to habitat loss caused by humans which is a huge issue for many species, which is extremely sad and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Every animals is an important piece to the ecosystem and losing even just one species could be detrimental for many. It is important to learn about new species because you never know if that species will be here within the next few years.

Life Span: 15-20 yrs (20 yrs in captivity) (in wold less but unknown)

Population Size: ~2,500 and decreasing 🙁

Geographical Location: They are only found in the forests of Madagascar (endemic!) 

Diet:  Fossa are strictly carnivorous and their favorite food is LEMURS! Lemurs make up most of the fossa’s diet, even though many of the lemurs are larger than the fossa themselves. They will also eat small mammals, birds, fish, lizards, frogs, chickens, and insects. They will hunt during the day and night depending on their mood.

Size: ~6 feet long in total , 26-31 inch tail (yes tail!), 15-28 lbs

Conservation Status:  Vulnerable (not good!)

Predators:  Their main predators are humans (due to habitat loss) and crocodiles.

Reproduction: The fossa are typically full grown and ready to mate at 4 yrs of age. The gestation period of a fossa lasts about 3 months. They produce a litter size of 2-6 pups/cubs. They are polyandrous, meaning one female mates with many males. Many females will take turns mating with multiple males in one tree. This tree will be used for many years as a mating spot for many fossa. Their mating season is from October-December.

Communication: Fossa tend to live solitary lives and only come together during the mating season. When they do communicate with each other they do so through scent marking. Their scent glands are located at the base of the tail and under their chests. They also sometimes vocalize with yelps, purrs, sighs, and meows.

• Fun Facts:
• Largest carnivorous mammal on the island of Madagascar
• Their tails can grow up to 2 1/2 feet (half of their body length)
• They are endemic to the island of Madagascar
• They live longer in captivity (like most animals due to the reduced risk of predation, medical care, and free food!)
• They are mainly solitary animals (until mating season)
• They are in fact NOT nocturnal
• They are ambush hunters
• Pronounced “foo-sa”
• Their decreasing population is due to habitat loss (like most species)

Websites Used for Research: http://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/fossa/reproduction http://justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-fossa/

References: Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) Fact Sheet. c2015. San Diego (CA): San Diego Zoo Global; 2020 Feb 16. http://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/fossa. 

Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)

Life Span: 10-13 years

Population Size: ~1.5 million

Geographical Location: Ocelots are found in areas such as the United States, Mexico, Central America, South America. The habitat that they prefer ranges from tropical forests, grasslands, mangrove forests, and marshes.

Diet: They are strictly carnivorous and hunt mainly at night because they are nocturnal. They eat animals such as mice, rabbits, rats, birds, snakes, lizards, fish, and frogs.

Size: 2.2-3.3 feet long, 40-50 cm tall, 18-44 lbs

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Predators: Because Ocelots are on the smaller side, there are many possibilities for larger animals to prey on them. Known predators of the Ocelots include Jaguar, Cougar, (Big Cats), Coyotes, Harpy Eagle (Birds of Prey), Snakes (Constrictors), and (like most animals) humans (for fur).

Reproduction: Ocelots do not have a specific season that they mate in (meaning there are no particular months that they chose to mate within). Their gestation period lasts between 79-82 days and they produce a litter size of 1-2 kittens.

Communication: The types of ways Ocelot’s communicate with eachother ranges from body language, scent marking and vocalization. Some of the vocalizations that they exhibit include “chuckles”, “mutters”, and the “yowl”.

• Fun Facts:
• Their life span increase up to 20 years if they are in captivity
• They will sometimes give birth in hollows of trees
• They are good swimmers
• They are most active at dusk
• Also known as the “Painted Leopard” and “Dwarf Leopard”
• Females are called “Queens”
• Males are called “Torns”
• Ocelots are solitary creatures and only come together to mate or if the mother is raising her young (but if there is a group of them they are known as “clowder” or “clutter”)

Websites Used for Research: http://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/ocelot/summary http://justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-ocelots/

References: Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) Fact Sheet. c2011-2019. San Diego (CA): San Diego Zoo Global; 2020 Feb 4. http://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/ocelot.

The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus)

Life Span: 10-12 years

Population Size: 1,409 and decreasing 🙁

Geographical Location: The African Wild Dog can be found in Southern and Eastern Africa in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa. The climate of these regions consist of deserts, forests, and grasslands.

Diet: They are strictly carnivorous and hunt in packs. They rely on large mammals such as Antelope, Warthog, Gazelles, and wounded Wildebeest. If large mammals were not available they will supplement their diet with small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects.

Size: 3 feet long, 60-75 cm tall, 49-70 lbs

Conservation Status: Endangered

Predators: They will be occasionally hunted by lions and hyenas if separated from their pack, fallen ill, or severely injured and no longer able to keep up with their pack. Humans are also a continuous threat due to illegal poaching.

Reproduction: The African Wild Dog has a gestation period that lasts for 70 days with a litter size 8-10 pups There is no specific mating season, but they tend to mate during the months from March-June. While the mother is caring for her pups other pack members will bring food to the her for the first three months while she takes care of her pups. Other females from the pack will also ‘babysit’ for the mother. The alpha female will typically be the only one mating with the alpha male (monogamous life pair), but other females may also mate on occasion.

Communication: They live in large packs consisting of 15-40 members. They communicate with one another in many ways such as short barks for alarms, rallying howels, bell-like contact calls that can be heard over long distances, twittering, whining, sniffing, muzzle licking, sneezing, and brushing up against each other.

• Fun Facts:
• The scientific name means “painted wolf”
• No two dogs have the same markings
• Males with stay with the pack they are born with while females will go and join new packs (unlike many pack species)
• They hunt at dawn and dusk
• They can run more than 44 mph
• The alpha female is the leader of the pack (not the alpha male)
• They have an 80% success rate while hunting
• They cannot be domesticated

Websites Used for Research: https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/african-wild-dog https://www.nathab.com/blog/ten-facts-about-the-african-wild-dog/ https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/african-wild-dog https://a-z-animals.com/animals/african-wild-dog/ https://hesc.co.za/species-hesc/african-wild-dog/

The Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)

Life Span: 6.5 years 12-15 years

Population Size: 17,000

Geographical Location: They are located in Central and Eastern South America. They can be found in the countries of Northern Argentina, South and Central Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Southern Peru. The habitat type that they inhabit includes wet and dry forests, grasslands, savannas, marshes, and wetlands (cerrado biome).

Diet: The Maned Wolf is an omnivore eating foods such as fruits, vegetables (especially the lobeira “fruit of the wolf”), small mammals, birds, and insects. They are solitary hunters and hunt their prey at night because they are nocturnal creatures.

Size: 3 feet tall, 4 feet long, 50 lbs

Conservation Status: Near Threatened

Predators: There are not many predators known to the Maned wolf but there are possibilities that Pumas and domestic dogs may attack them. Humans are the number one predator to the wolf due to the wolves killing of livestock.

Reproduction: They live in monogamous pairs and only breed once a year during the mating season which spans from November to June. The gestation period of a Maned Wolf is 65 days. They can produce from 1 to 5 pups per litter.

Communication: They scent mark using pungent urine and feces. They also communicate with each other by loud barks or roar barks.

• Fun Facts:
• Tallest wild Canid
• Not actually a wolf or a fox (closest living relative is the Bush Dog
• Part of the genus Chrysocyon meaning “golden dog”
• Newborns have dark brown coats
• Their black “manes” are used as a defense mechanism
• There pee smells so bad that they are known as the “skunk wolf”
• They rotate their ears to listen for prey then tap on the ground with their front feet to scare their prey out of their burrows and eventually pounce on them to capture them
• They do not howl

Websites Used for Research: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/maned-wolf https://theanimalfacts.com/mammals/maned-wolf/ https://animalcorner.org/animals/maned-wolf/ https://www.endangeredwolfcenter.org/educational-resources/maned-wolf/

Welcome to my blog, “Animal Species of the Week”! Here I will be posting a new species each week from the animal kingdom that I find interesting. I will be mainly focusing on vertebrates because I know more about animals who have a backbone. I will be talking about things such as the geographical location, diet, behavior, fun facts, etc. about the particular species of the week. There will be pictures and videos to further express how cool each species is. I hope this blog will help people to discover a new animal that they never even knew existed before!