Q 01/05

Which primates make up more than half of the fossa's diet in the forests of Madagascar?

A) Monkeys

B) Lemurs

C) Bushbabies

D) Lorises

Answer · why

B) Lemurs

Lemurs supply over half of what a fossa eats, and it is the only predator able to kill adults of every living species of them.

Q 02/05

Thanks to unusually flexible ankles, how does the fossa climb down a tree trunk?

A) Backwards

B) Sideways

C) Head-first

D) In a spiral

Answer · why

C) Head-first

Head-first descents work because the fossa's ankles twist far enough to grip the trunk on the way down, a trick that also helps it leap between trees.

Q 03/05

Despite its cat-like looks, DNA shows the fossa's closest relatives outside Madagascar are which animals?

A) Hyenas

B) Wolverines

C) Raccoons

D) Mongooses

Answer · why

D) Mongooses

Mongooses are the nearest kin: every native carnivore on Madagascar descends from one mongoose-like ancestor that arrived about 20 million years ago.

Q 04/05

In the 2005 film Madagascar, which zoo animal's fearsome appearance first scares off the attacking fossa?

A) Alex

B) Marty

C) Melman

D) Gloria

Answer · why

A) Alex

Alex sends the fossa running without even trying, so the island's residents befriend the New York zoo animals, hoping his presence will keep the preda...

Q 05/05

The fossa is often described as resembling a small version of which wild cat of the Americas?

A) Cougar

B) Jaguar

C) Ocelot

D) Bobcat

Answer · why

A) Cougar

Cougar is the usual comparison, because the fossa evolved a slender, muscular, cat-like body on its own without being a cat at all.