Zoo uses ‘Blind Date’ technique to get rare animals to mate

By Ed Chatterton

A zoo has taken inspiration from TV's "Blind Date" to try and get two rare Malagasy fossas to mate as part of an international breeding program.

Seven-year-old Zaza has recently arrived at Chester Zoo from San Diego Zoo in a bid to save the highly threatened species from extinction.

Conservationists hope he will mate with Chester's female resident Shala and the pair will go on to contribute to the survival of the species by having pups.

Zookeepers will keep them at a distance at first to mimic their natural environment using a sliding screen 'like the hit Cilla Black dating show, until they are ready to mate.

A Chester Zoo spokesperson said: "The sliding screen might make this seem a bit like an episode of Blind Date, but the fossas must be properly introduced at precisely the right moment."

Fossas naturally live solitary lives and the zoo is replicating this by keeping Zaza and Shala separate most of the time, with the pair only coming together for breeding.

Keeper Jack Cunningham, a member of the carnivore team at Chester Zoo, said: “Initially we plan to rotate the two of them separately around different parts of their habitat so they can smell each other.

"They can see each other through a glass window and there’s also a screen we can slide open between their dens which allows them to see each other, without being able to get to one another straight away.

"It’s all part of our slow and gradual introduction process.

“Female fossas only come into season once a year for a two-week period.

“They’re usually a silent species, except for when the females are looking for males, and then they will vocalise.

"After a few days of soft introductions through the windows and mesh, we’ll know Shala is ready to meet Zaza because she will stand at the top of a tree and scream, which is her way of saying: I’m ready!

“She was a wonderful mum to her first pups, so we’re excited to see if she and Zaza have their own litter.”

Mark Brayshaw, head of mammals at Chester Zoo, said: "Zaza is part of a global conservation breeding program.

“With the fossa listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its wild habitats in Madagascar under threat from rapid development, Zaza’s move to Chester Zoo is an important part of the international effort to ensure this wonderful and unique species is safeguarded long into the future.

"We’re very pleased to see him arrive.”

The unusual cat-like creatures, which are native to Madagascar, are a highly threatened species with fewer than 2,500 estimated to remain in the wild.

They are the largest natural predator in Madagascar where they hunt for prey such as lemurs, birds, lizards and mice.

Although they have retractable claws like cats, they are most closely related to mongooses.

Shala, who arrived in Chester in 2018, had a litter of pups with her previous mate, Isalo, who will be moving on from Chester as part of the same breeding program.

Their pups have already found new homes in the UK and on the other side of the Atlantic.

As well as contributing to the continued survival of the species, Shala has also contributed to scientific knowledge of the species.

Her mating call has been recorded and analysed to create a spectrogram - a visual representation of sound.

This allows researchers in the rainforests of Madagascar to identify when female fossas are looking for mates in the wild, which helps track species numbers and identify which environments are best for them.

Lucy Pearson and Candice Dymek were Zaza’s keepers at the San Diego Zoo.

Lucy said: “Zaza is a very energetic and well-tempered fossa and can be very vocal when excited.

"He was the bravest of the four pups in his litter due to his curious personality.”

Candice added: “While it is hard to say goodbye to this lovable fossa, we are excited at the potential for him to sire pups and grow the European fossa population, and to be a part of such a large collaboration that will continue to further conservation efforts in Madagascar.”

Fossa facts:

Fossa and other Madagascan carnivores have evolved separately to animals in mainland Africa for roughly 20 million years, and it's believed their ancestors may have drifted to Madagascar on a natural raft.

In the wild, male fossas gather to compete to reach a female waiting in a ‘mating tree’. This kind of competition is uncommon in mammals and is more often seen in birds, where males scuffle and display during a ‘lek’.

Female fossas bulk up before meeting prospective mates, putting on muscle, particularly around their necks and jaws. They also vigorously scent-mark their territories, which can lead to them rubbing the fur from their necks.

Fossa pups are born blind and weigh about 100g (about the same as a small apple). They first leave their den between four to five months old, and by a year old are independent from their mother.

About half of a fossa’s diet in the wild is made up of lemurs. The rest might include tenrecs (a hedgehog-like creature), small lizards and birds.