<\/a><\/p>\n

Today we are going to play a game called “What Do I Look Like?”.\u00a0 So, take a look at the picture above and try to guess the relatives of the Fossa.\u00a0 Go ahead, what do you think? Is it related to a weasel? Dog? Cat?\u00a0 You give up yet? Although, the Fossa may look like a cross between the above mentioned animals, it is actually related to the mongoose.\u00a0 If you can remember all the way back to November 23, 2009 you will know that we have previously discussed another member of the mongoose family.\u00a0 Of course, this was the fascinating Meerkat<\/a>. Can you believe that the animal pictured above is related to the meerkat?<\/p>\n

The fossa is the largest carnivore native to Madagascar.\u00a0 Their specialty happens to be feasting on lemurs.\u00a0 If you have seen the cartoon, Madagascar, then you may remember the lemurs trembling in fear just by mentioning the word “Fossa”.\u00a0 So, what makes the fossa such a deadly predator? Well, it doesn’t just look like a cat but it has some of the same adaptations as the successful felines.\u00a0 For example, they have retractable claws which assist in climbing. These claws actually allow the fossa to climb down a tree head first.\u00a0 I believe I have tried that at some point in my life but it didn’t turn out too well.\u00a0 As well, they have a very long tail which provides additional balance while hunting in the trees.\u00a0 Oddly enough they use this tail the same way a tight rope walker uses that long pole. Maybe the circus should hire a few of these Madagascar predators.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the lemurs don’t catch a break on the ground either.\u00a0 The fossa is incredbily fast and extremely agile compared to the lemurs.\u00a0 This basically spells out trouble for the little lemurs which is why they make up more than 50% of the fossa diet.<\/p>\n

So now we can add one more animal to the list of reasons why I want to visit Madagascar! I am telling you that island is rapidly working its way up my list of places to visit before I die.\u00a0 I think it is only behind Africa and the Galapagos Islands. Has anyone been lucky enough to visit Madagascar?<\/p>\n

Well, I guess that just about does it for me.\u00a0 Have a great day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today we are going to play a game called “What Do I Look Like?”.\u00a0 So, take a look at the picture above and try to guess the relatives of the Fossa.\u00a0 Go ahead, what do you think? Is it related to a weasel? Dog? Cat?\u00a0 You give up yet? Although, the Fossa may look like a cross between the above mentioned animals, it is actually related to the mongoose.\u00a0 If you can remember all the way back to November 23, 2009 you will know that we have previously discussed another member of the mongoose family.\u00a0 Of course, this was the <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60,4024],"tags":[348,226,349,351,352,350,4025,4027],"yoast_head":"\n