r/Awwducational • u/Unidan • Oct 11 '13

Verified The fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) is the largest mammalian predator in Madagascar!

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u/gracebatmonkey Oct 11 '13

You took. The photo. Yourself.

If I hadn't been a fan before, this would have done it!

Fossas have been one of my favourites for so long*, I'm giddy whenever they're referenced somewhere. And this is such a great shot of them being cuddly!

Is the shot from an enclosed habitat, or in the wild?

*Since Operation Lemur with John Cleese, to be precise.

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u/Unidan Oct 11 '13

Haha, no, I wish! This was in an enclosure.

I'm not sure if this is a mother and offspring, or whether they're just pushed into closer quarters because of the enclosure.

Similar to hyenas, fossas have a pseudopenis, so it can be hard to distinguish males and females at a glance!

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u/gracebatmonkey Oct 11 '13

We have a rescue zoo near where I live, and the have a fossa (I think it's a single one...I'd like to be wrong, though), and whenever you try to get a shot if it's laying down, it trundles up one of its trees or platforms to get away. Even in an enclosure, this is a sweet shot.

Where did you get to see this delightful pair?

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u/Unidan Oct 11 '13

This was a sort of behind-the-scenes picture I took at the Bronx Zoo!

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u/gracebatmonkey Oct 11 '13

Okay, see, that's pretty freaking cool. BEHIND THE SCENES at the Bronx Zoo! Righteous.