Children and adults get an up close look at this rarely seen carnivore through glass.

Naples Zoo recently premiered its newest exhibit:  The Fosa: Madagascar’s Legendary Carnivore. The fosa (formerly spelled fossa) is the island’s largest mammalian predator and is so quick in the trees that about half of its diet is lemurs. Guests are able to see two of these endangered species through glass viewing windows.  The fascinating world of the fosa is revealed through fun guess-the-answer flip panels and interpretive graphics.

Only Place in Southeastern US
Less than 40 of these rare creatures are found in the nation and Naples Zoo is the only zoo in the Southeastern United States where you can see one.

The new exhibit features themed naturalistic rockwork replicating the striking tsingy limestone formations seen in Madagascar. The tsingy rock surrounds the glass viewing areas for guests to get clear views. As agile as squirrels in a tree, the fosas can jump to natural oak trees and vertical poles, run along an elevated catwalk, play on the ropes, and climb through custom structures.

The Zoo’s Director of Conservation reviewed the exhibit plans with Dr. Luke Dollar, National Geographic Emerging Explorer and world’s leading fosa researcher. Dr. Luke Dollar was instrumental in supplying the latest data for the interpretive graphic panels as well as photos from the field. Naples Zoo is funding four educational items in Madagascar coordinated by Dr. Dollar to help save fosas.

The fosa looks like a dark brown, short-legged cougar, albeit much smaller and stretched out. Fosas weigh around 15 to 30 pounds or more and measure around 5 ½ feet long. Fosas live in forests ringing the coast of the island. Like Madagascar’s more popularly known lemurs, fosas are endemic to Madagascar meaning they can be found nowhere else. This also describes about 90% of the island’s mammals and plants along with over 95% of its reptiles and over 99% of its amphibians.   The diverse life on Madagascar resulted from over 160 million years of isolation from both mainland Africa and people who only arrived about 2,000 years ago.

The Fosa: Madagascar’s Legendary Carnivore exhibit was made possible through a generous donation by the Halverstadt Family.  Naples Zoo wishes to honor Connie H. Miller, Linda H. MacDuffie, and Albert N. Halverstadt Jr. for their contribution to the creation of this exhibit. Their support will further efforts to help this endangered species. Linda H. MacDuffie also serves as a member of the Naples Zoo Board of Directors.

The breeding of this endangered species is overseen by a Population Management Plan coordinated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.  Resembling a giant computer dating service, various AZA programs track the ancestry of animals and make recommendations for breeding to maintain genetic diversity. The female most likely to be selected to breed with one of the zoo’s two male fosas is not expected to be born until this year.