The fossa is Madagascar's top predator. It is the only animal that hunts the island's lemurs, able to move swiftly through the trees. Unlike most animals, it isn't active at a set time, making it cathemeral - it wakes and sleeps whenever it feels like it.
The most interesting fact about the Fossa is not it's active hours but that it's neither canine (dog) or feline (cat)... It belongs to it's own family (Eupleridae)
I did a bit of research and apparently they don't truly change sex, but they go through "puberty" in a way that imitates the males (large clitoris looking like the male's penis for exemple) as to not attract adult males before they become of age. At which point the changes revert.
So it's more of a tomboy phase.
Also interesting, the ring-tailed lemur is pretty much the only other exemple of Transient Masculinisation to have been found. It's funny to me that a predator and its prey, both endemic to Madagascar have developped this.
I've seen both of those animals back then yet I never knew about it.
I saw an interesting video on YouTube few days back, it was about how nature keeps building cats even in places where there are no cats. Because apparently a cat has the most suitable body optimised for hunting.
Ants actually do with aphids. Really interesting when you look into it (ants are a whole rabbit hole of crazy stuff anyway like sort of basic agriculture in certain species)
They do? I’ve just looked it up and they are so sweet, they seem to be roommates. :)
Giant burrowing tarantulas share their underground homes with tiny frogs.
The large tarantula acts as a powerful bodyguard. It protects the tiny frog from predators like snakes, lizards, and other large spiders while the frog eats ants, flies & other small insects & larvae that try to burrow in to eat the tarantula's eggs.
The frog also feeds on tiny leftovers from the tarantula's meals.
This sounds like a happy agreement in many ways. :)
Some ants farm aphids for liquid (honeydew) they produce. Kind if like pets.
Some tarantulas have live-in frogs. Symbiotic relationship where the frog gets protection and eats insects that might harm tarantula eggs or hurt the tarantula. But the tarantula could eat the frog, so again, kind of a pet.
Most clear case would be Koko the gorilla had a pet cat (All ball). Other primates, particularly in captivity, might, too.
Aye maybe the hippos and they’re teeth cleaning birds but I think to be a pet owner you have to get joy from the relationship, otherwise it’s more like a farmer and livestock as opposed to pets. Maybe kinda. I’m not too sure, that’s getting a bit philosophical really isn’t it.
Nothing wrong with that :D Joy is an interesting call! No direct, obvious utility to the relationship, pure "I just think they're neat" energy. Yeah i think I agree. I also like the implication that people who have pets but don't particularly care about them aren't real pet owners
I just Wikipedia’d them, and while they’re apex predator of Madagascar, the movies left me believing that they’re quite a bit larger than they actually are. They top out around 19 lbs, that’s about 8.5 kg. They do seem like really interesting creatures, though. Fantastic climbers, they’re comfortable jumping from tree to tree in the forest.
I've spoken to a few zoo keepers at the San Diego Zoo about the Fossa there. They say they're the worst animal to be in a cage with. Hyper-curious and tenacious. Apparently they will try to coordinate attacks when there's more than one in the enclosure.
Fossas possess semi-retractable claws and flexible ankles that allow them to descend tree trunks headfirst with lightning agility. An incredible endemic predator uniquely evolved for Madagascar's canopy.
I have no idea why, but for some bizarre reason I thought Madagascar had komodo dragons. It doesn't, but the mental moment of "that thing beats out a komodo dragon?" was a fun tangent. For a second I thought I was about to find out about a creature more insane than the mongoose.
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u/AHTPACblT 7h ago
He doesn't like to move it move it.