ExtinctZoo - The World's Most Unknown Apex Predator

Episode Date: September 11, 2025

They too like to move it, move it

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As you'll notice that in the majority of countries, the biggest and baddest land predators around belong to just three groups, with this exclusive club consisting of large felines, canines, and the ursidae, aka bears. And if you take a look around, you'll find that this rule holds up pretty darn well. I mean, even Australia, the literal land of nope, and home to straight-up horror animals, still maintain this rule, with the current largest terrestrial predator there being a dingo, an interesting-looking doggo that is often considered an ancient lineage of dog. So yeah, a canine.

And really, there are so few exceptions to this standard that you can count the number of rule breakers on just one hand. But frankly, most of the exceptions aren't all that interesting. Yet, there is one country, already well known for its wacky nature, where the largest predator around is unlike anything you can find elsewhere, and the kicker is that barely anyone has heard of it. Although, that being said, many people have seen it, realize it or not, as it was featured in a movie based off of the country in which it resides. Any guess? Well, here's a hint. This place likes to move it, movet, mov it. So yes, I am talking about the one and only Madagascar, the fourth largest island on the entire planet, and home to some of the star.

strangest animals out there. But I guess that's bound to happen when you isolate a chunk of land out in the water for millions of years. So perhaps it's really not a shocker to hear that it's here where none of the big three reigns supreme. Instead, an unlikely ruler has arisen, which dominates all else and can pretty much be summed up as a giant killer mongoose. And this is Cryptoprocta pharix, better known as the Fossa. Now, before I get too far, I will clarify that this unorthodox king is not a real mongoose, but it does sure seem to come close to one, hailing from the Eupelidae family, which is made up of just ten species, and like the Fossa, they are only found in Madagascar. And that's kind of insane, as it would be like if all the great apes lived on just one single island

instead of six continents. And these guys are commonly referred to as the Malagasy carnivorans or mongooses, but it doesn't truly meet that definition, of course. With this nickname having to do the fact that the mongooses are their closest living relatives, with the second place going to hyenas. and together the three make up the mammalian superfamily, herpes stoidia. And no, it's not what you think. And out of these three families, only the Eupuridae became a Malagasy Island boy, with one study suggesting that all ten species evolved from a single ancestor that rafted itself off of mainland Africa and over to Madagascar around 18 to 23 million years ago,

during the Miocene. And this move, accident or not, turned out to be a huge win for this guy's descendants, as Madagascar was pretty much just free real estate at the time. with there being no strong or even plentiful competition, just plenty of room, leading to some crazy evolution that, of course, included a smidge of insular gigantism, which our main character of the Fossa really took advantage of, and so it ballooned in size compared to its relatives, with the Fossa becoming the largest predator in the entire country, with a modern adult's fossa being capable of growing up to 26 pounds or 11.7 kilograms, so a bit like a corgi.

And yes, I know, I know. That might sound a bit underwhelming, but we have to look at this relatively speaking. As in Madagascar, it's a chunky giant. And plus, there's more to the story, as there have been a lot of anecdotal reports from various areas, namely around Morantava, that suggests that unusually large fossa do exist, with some reports claiming that certain individuals can be between 44 and 70 pounds, or 20 and 32 kilos, while exceeding 7 feet in length from head to tail, which puts them above bobcats and on par with medium-sized cheetahs, which mind you, aren't that small. And other reports indirectly support these ones, as some Some people grimly claim that Fossa will make off the small children who venture too far into forests.

And as of now, none of these mutant giant Fossa have never been officially captured or recorded. But these reports are highly interesting, as we do know that a Godzilla-like Fossa are within the realm of possibility. Since once upon a time not so long ago, the island was home to one that we know for sure. The Cryptoprocta, Spilea, aka the giant Fossa, a predator likely capable of taking down lemurs the size of gorillas. Yes, you heard that right, guerrilla-sized bleemers, who if you can't tell, are no longer with us either. And it's thought that these giant fossa went extinct sometime before the 1400s.

However, the anecdotal statements on unusually large individuals has risen the hopes in some biologists that maybe it's still out there, or at least points to the possibility that there is more than one fossa species on this island. And the belief is so strong that locals have even created a name for this mysterious large creature. And that's Fossa Mainty, or the black fossa. As along with size, another apparent distinction is that unlike their reddish coats seen in regular specimens, these guys bear coats as dark as midnight. Spooky, I know. Though, this being said, I promise you that the Fossa which are still around are still very spooky in their own right,

and are absolutely insane in more ways than one. For starters, just take a look at the thing. What does that remind you of? And your answer here should be cats, as you presumably are not the only one who noticed, as despite not being closely related to them, Fossa are suspiciously concerned. cat-like, thanks to good old convergent evolution, and it specifically shares the most similarity with cougars, who you already know are bad news. In between the two, you will find tails of equal proportions, similar body shapes and claws, although in the Fossus case they're only

semi-retractable, and then slender but muscular builds. I mean, take a look at this guy, it's freaking yoked out of its mind. And so unsurprisingly, these powerful arms are perfect for catching and gripping extremely unlucky creatures, who then, sadly for them, usually experienced the most important similarity between the Fossa and felines. And that's their pearly whites, which contains sharp and powerful canines and molars that allow it to effortlessly pierce and dice prey up. And so these lovely features, combined with its relatively giant size, has rendered the Fossa terror to all else in Madagascar. And I do mean all else, because these guys will eat anything they can, with scat or poop analysis, showing that anything rangers from insects to crabs, to lizards, to

birds, and even domestic mammals, like piglets, goats, and get this, calves. However, the Fossa does have one clear favorite snack that sticks out amongst all the rest, which it also seemingly loves to torment. And you may know the answer if you've seen the film Madagascar, because I am talking about lemurs. So I guess the Fossa being the party poopers in the movie was actually pretty accurate, as they've evolved to be their most predominant predators, and are the only known animal on the island that can hunt every single type of lemur.

and virtually half of all the food they put in their mouth is one. In fact, the lemur eating is so bad and widespread that it has made it literally hard for scientists to tell if Fossa occasionally eat fruits or not by choice. As many seeds are often found in their stomachs, and we can't tell if they're coming from the lemurs they killed, or if they actually do eat fruits, to stay hydrated and cool during the dry season. And it only gets worse for King Julian's people here on out, because the Fossa seemed to reserve a very peculiar behavior for lemurs alone,

which is a downright disrespectful and horrifying. And that's evisceration. Sounds bad, but let me be a bit more specific. Evisceration is when something gets disemboweled, i.e. your guts are now saying hell out of the world. And to reiterate, it's only the lemurs that these guys do this too. So definitely seems a bit personal. It makes it very understandable why lemurs would be terrified of Fossa.

Yet, it's not just the frequency of killing or eviscerations that keep the lemurs up in night, as another very unusual superpower has turned Fossa into things straight from a horror film, and that's their invulnerability to bedtimes. For you and me, when the clock hits a certain time, it's lights out, no discussion, unless you want to feel a complete poop the next morning. But this is not the case for the Fossa, who essentially sleep whenever they want, and however they want, as they are, cathemoral, meaning they are not tied down to the constraints of night or day, and can just choose to rest when it's most convenient.

And because of this unusual sleeping pattern, Fossa also end up hunting whenever they please, resulting in the perpetual nightmare wherein its prey can never rest easy. As at any given moment, there could be a Fossa right around the corner who's looking for either breakfast or a midnight snack. And it doesn't matter how long the prey tries in wait. Talk about an unfair advantage. And this is not the only way Fossa have secured a dominating role. They've got loads of other tools up their sleeves, or rather up their trees. As another essential part of their kit is their insane climbing ability, which kind of makes sense given its prey.

And this also means that lemurs, or really any other animal for that matter, or not safe if they climb even very high up, as the fossa is just about as good of a climber as you can get. It starts with their semi-retractable claws that allow them to hold firmly onto trunks and branches. Next, its tail assist in balance, while the strong pads on its paws provide some much-needed grip, and then to complete the package, each foss has developed hyper-flexible ankles

that have granted them the unusual ability to climb both up and down a tree head first. And in certain cases, hang bottom-side up from a tree, a bit like a bat. In other words, this predator can eat you upside down. not necessarily an ability to expect from a country's largest animal. And its skill, to effortlessly scale trees, doesn't just mean reaching prey that are high as a kite. It also means the fossa of access to many different habitats. And as a result, they are found throughout the majority of Madagascar, no matter the ecosystem. Be it dense forests, open shrubs, hilly sides, you name it, and you'll find them.

Be it on the ground or in a tree. And really, the only place they don't bother going is the very inner regions of the island, where things even get a little too rocky and steep for them. despite all their climbing abilities. Fortunately, though, this also applies to many of their prey, and not many of their prime targets live in these high-altitude regions, regardless. So no harm, no foul. Can't say the same for lemurs, though.

And our little primate friends do have another problem to worry about, which the movie also got right, and that's the number game. Now, if you were being hunted by something that was the largest predator in the lands and had absolutely zero problem taking you down by itself, then you'd kind of expected to show up alone, right? Well, not in this case, as the Fossa like to treat hunting as a guessing game, because you can never tell how many will show up to the party. Now, typically, Fossas seem to prefer their alone time, being solitary hunters that bring down their own prey. But occasionally, they are known to form full-on hunting parties in order to maximize terror.

And these bands of mischief are often made up of pairs during the mating season, or mothers and they're young, and can be pretty darn crafty, as usually a group will have one member chase an animal through the trees, until the poor sucker will try to make a break for it by descending downwards, hoping to pull a fast one on those dumb tree-hugging fossa. But unbeknownst to it, the other members of the hunting party aren't in the trees. They're patiently waiting on the ground, whereupon saying the lemur, or prey, they pounce. And you can probably guess what happens to poor Maurice after this. Additionally, while these hunting parties are usually made up of at least one female, there have been observations where unseemingly only males have come together to wreak havoc.

So who knows just how far the social behavior goes. But one thing is clear, it works. And the fauc's capacity to hunt is so high that they will regularly kill off large portions of an animal within a given area. And actually, this is so common that this is how they decide when to move on. Not when they want some new scenery, but when they've just about killed everyone around them. And considering that these guys eat so many different things in general, they are often considered keystone species, having a disproportionately large impact on their environment,

especially when compared to their relative lack of abundance. So simply put, these guys are amazing killing machines. But Fossa aren't all about death. They like to party, like the lemurs too, and actually in a bit more of a freaky way, as Fossa's in pretty atypical mating patterns for a predator. Namely, it's polyandrous, meaning that each female will mate with several males. Sorry, fellas. And this is already kind of atypical in the animal kingdom,

but it takes things one step further, is it becomes the only known predator where the females will basically set up a love nest that they then monopolize and regulate throughout the mating. season. In around these fortresses of love, males will typically show up in varying numbers and essentially compete for the right to enter, often having shout-offs with the competition, or getting a bit physical in certain cases. And then depending on their performance, the female will then choose between letting in one, to multiple of the guys who impressed her. And here's the kicker. The deed does not always go down on the floor level. Instead, these love nests of fossa build are almost always way up,

taking place in tall trees usually greater than six floors, which is their own version of the Mile High club, I guess. And if a Fossa is somehow scared of heights, it better get over it soon, as they won't be coming down for a while, as these guys go at it for a grueling amount of time, with one session typically lasting three hours. Impressive, right? Well, not necessarily, because this duration isn't due to some insane stamina. Instead, it comes down to a rather uncomfortable sounding anatomical feature in the males, and that's a penis which is covered in a boatload of backwards spines. So, easy to get in, but, uh, hard to get out. If you get out, if you get out, if you get my drift. And then a page taken straight out of the hyena playbook, it turns out that the females

also have a shaft, so to speak, at least their own version of it, because starting at between the ages of one and two, their own genitalia will rapidly develop into an enlarged spiny clitoris that resembles the penis of the males. And this might sound a bit counterproductive, but actually it's very beneficial, with the probable hypothesis being that this pseudoshaft could reduce the amount of sexual harassment the females experienced whilst young, and reduced the aggression that they face when dealing with territorial females. And as mentioned, it's not just the Faso who have developed this unusual trait. But they have added their own little spin to it, which has never been seen elsewhere. And that is, after a few years, this pseudopinus will start

to diminish in size. And while we're not 100% sure why, there is the hypothesis that is to let males know that they've reached sexual maturity, and thus to not scare them off, so to speak. And speaking of mating, there is actually an interesting reason why they mate in the way they do, and that is to make up for their low population density. You see, despite the Fossa's being absolute lemur terminators, they're not as common as you might suspect, and this is where the polyandrous tactic pays off well, because if there's not many of your kind left, it's helpful if you all know where to meet up when you want to get some, as opposed to just setting out and hoping you bump into someone. And Fossa females will routinely use the exact same tree for breeding multiple years in a row,

making it very convenient for all and allowing them to hit their quotas, so to speak. However, there is something that this system did not account for, and has no solution to, and that's that another primate has taken up residence on the island. Any guesses? Well, if you need a hint, then take a look at your closest mirror, because I'm talking about homo sapiens. Yes, as you're probably aware, humans live on the island too, and in typical human fashion have indeed made things a bit tougher for the foss and the rest of the animals.

Chiefly, the harm we've done to them has mostly come through our indirect actions instead of our direct ones, with the current biggest threat to Fossa being the widespread habitat destruction that is occurring, which is done in order to make room for farms, crops, and infrastructure. And the habitat loss has been so severe that it has resulted in populations becoming isolated in areas that are simply too small to support them, slowly leading to various populations starting to die out. And it absolutely does not help, the deforestation also takes away the number of food sources, too. And between 1987 and 2008, it's estimated that at least 30% of all Fossa have disappeared, leading to them being classified as vulnerable animals.

And while this classification isn't the worst one out there, there is a major problem, which is that some believe that there is simply too little protected and untouched areas left for them, and that eventually the fossil will have no means to recover. In fact, one study even claimed that the entire Fossa genus could be doomed in as little as 100 years based off of how things are currently looking. And that would spell disaster in all caps, and not just for them, but for a lot of Madagascar's wildlife, because they play a very important role in regulating other animal populations, and thus their disappearance would likely throw everything into a ray.

And sadly, not many locals are actually on board with saving these guys, as the Foss have garnered a negative reputation over the years. With making away with domesticated animals, the legends are taking small children, and then also scavenging graves, which are just a few reported reasons why many people, Madagascar, have a great dislike for the unusual creatures, often finding them to be, quote-unquote, greedy, and aggressive as well. And naturally, you don't use the people.

usually try to save something you hate, which is honestly the biggest issue with conserving them. But another problem with the attitude towards Fossa is that it's also led to quite a few people killing them outright for retribution. But ironically, locals' hatred for the Fossa is sometimes reported as the only thing the creatures have protecting them to an extent, as they're often considered too taboo to eat, with people fearing that consuming their meat will pass on their undesirable traits to them, or that it will disrespect their ancestors, given that, like I said, these guys have been known to visit graves. Unfortunately, though, despite the taboo around them, they aren't completely safe from becoming primate food.

As some villages still hunt these guys for bushmeat, especially those that are more rural and located deep within forests. And I don't think it takes too much reasoning to figure out that humans are the only animal of the faucet really have to worry about. And so if we're able to get our act together, we could save them. Thanks for watching, and until next time. Own it all. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari, in celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly, Big Board, Buck slot machine by aristocrat gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. The biggest prize in Yamava's history.

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