Strange Looking (and/or Rare) Critters (Part 3)

Golden snub-nosed monkeys

Brown-eared pheasant

Dhole

Fossa

Giant weta (in the hand of an adult human)

Gerenuk

Naked mole rat

Meet the Fossa

Fossa baby

Fossa fore foot

Fossa hind foot

The Denver Zoo has just introduced baby Rico, the first fossa born here.  The fossa is a cat-like creature, Crytoprocta ferox, that is closely related to the mongoose, and is native only to the island of Madagascar.  They are predators and prefer to eat meat - when ranging free on Madagascar, their diet mainly consists of rodents and lemurs. Usually, they live solitary lives, but hunting areas occasionally overlap.  Kittens are born without teeth and with their eyes closed, in numbers from one to six per litter.  They are usually weaned at four and a half months, but are not considered independent and adults until they reach one year of age.  A full grown male can measure six feet from nose to tail-tip and weigh 26 pounds.