ZooBorns

Three's Company For Houston Zoo's Fossa Troupe!

On June 25, 2011, three Fossa pups were born to the Houston Zoo's female, Riana. Although Riana was only with her own mom for a few days before keeper’s had to intervene due to maternal aggression, she has proven to be an excellent and laid back mother. Houston Zoo carnivore keepers set up cameras in Riana’s nest box and because they were already raising an orangutan infant, the monitor was set up in the primate area. The overnight caregivers pulled double duty, monitoring Riana and her pups remotely while caring for baby Aurora, their hand-raised orangutan.

The litter turned out to be three girls, named Ingrid, Heidi and Gretchen in honor of their father, Hansel. True to their agile fossa nature, the girls are extremely active, tumbling around their enclosure while using their long tails for balance. One of their favorite activities is trying to run all together on their giant “hamster wheel”, built by Keeper Josh Young. Usually one of them wants to run the opposite direction from her sisters, which makes for some really great entertainment for our keeper staff!

Photo Credit: Stephanie Adams/Houston Zoo

More pics and info below the fold!

France Finds Success Breeding Fossa Pups!

The Fossa, an unusual carnivore native to Madagascar, is the island's largest predator. With only 2000 individuals surviving, it is considered to be among the world's most endangered species. In order to preserve the species, a European breeding program was initiated under the EAZA (The Association of European Zoos and Aquariums). The breeding of this species in captivity is extremely difficult.  In September of this year, Calviac Zoological Reserve in France became the only European institution in 2011 to succeed with the births of two baby Fossas.

Now nearly 3 months old, the youngsters dexterously climb branches over 13 feet high. Fully weaned at 6 months, wild Fossas remain with their mothers until the age of 18 months, after which they will live in solitude.

Fossa Pups!

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo has two new Fossa pups, born on June 26, 2010. Native to the island of Madagascar, Fossas are the main predator of lemurs. They are very agile climbers whose ankles can rotate 180 degrees. This allows them to climb down a tree face-forward while gripping with their back feet. Looking like a cross between a cat and a weasel, they are most closely related to mongooses.

Photo Credits: Henry Doorly Zoo

 

Feisty Fossa Debuts in Denver

This week, the Denver Zoo welcomed Dorian the fossa, a feisty and mischievous four year old. However, we used this occasion as an excuse to dig up some old photos of Dorian and his two siblings when they were just pups at the San Diego Zoo back in 2006.

Above photo credits: San Diego Zoo

Fossas are the largest carnivore in Madagascar and they are closely related to the mongoose. In case you doubted their feistiness, enjoy the video below. They are like cat-weasels on speed.

A portrait of Dorian as a young man, getting used to his new surroundings at the Denver Zoo.

Photo credit: Dave Parsons / Denver Zoo