Dorian, a curious carnivore, can now be seen scampering at the Denver Zoo.
The first of his species to be exhibited at the zoo, according to a Denver Zoo media release, Dorian is a fossa.
Dorian was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2006.
Zoo keepers describe him as “very curious and mischievous.” He is always “checking things out,” they say.
Zoo visitors can check Dorian out in his new digs in the zoo Feline I Building.
According to the Zoo: “Fossas almost resemble small mountain lions, but their closest relative is the mongoose. They have short, brown coats. Adults stand just over a foot tall at the shoulder and can stretch about two-and-half feet from head to backside.
“Their tails can be just as long and provide good balance when navigating though trees while hunting for prey. Their teeth, jaws and partially retractable claws resemble those of a cat, but their agility has been described as almost primate-like. They can hang upside down and quickly climb to the top of a tree.”
Grown fossas weight about 20 pounds. They are the largest mammalian carnivore on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, the zoo said.
In the wild, fossas eat mostly lemurs, small primates that look like a cross between a cat, a squirrel and a dog. They also feed on lizards, birds and smaller livestock.
Fossas are cathemeral – they are active and looking for prey at any part of the day or night – depending on their mood and the availability of prey.
They’re largely solitary animals, except when breeding, the zoo said.
Zookeepers hope to bring a female fossa to the zoo to breed with Dorian.
The status of fossas in the wild is unknown. Once thought to number less than 2,500, the count is now uncertain due to a lack of sightings, the zoo.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
