The serval (Leptailurus serval) is a wild cat found in Africa. It is widespread in sub-Saharan countries, where it inhabits grasslands, wetlands, moorlands, and bamboo thickets. The serval cat has a tall and slender body, with long legs, a small head, and big ears.
A Serval in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
Physical Characteristics
Super sleek: African servals are small, slender cats with long legs, a lean body, a short tail, and a small head. The serval is a slender, medium-sized cat; it stands 54 to 62 cm (21-24 in) at the shoulder and weighs 8 to 18 kg (18-40 lb), but females tend to be lighter. They top out at 40 pounds (18 kilograms) yet have the largest ears of any cat. Just how big are those ears? A serval has a slender body, very long legs, a small head, and huge ears. Servals have the longest legs relative to the body size of any cat in the world.
Their build is well-adapted for hunting in tall grass. The coat is basically golden-yellow to buff and extensively marked with black spots and stripes. The spots show great variation in size. Their colouring helps them stay hidden in their grassy homes. Each serval’s coat pattern is unique and works as perfect camouflage among the dappled light and high grass of its habitat. Their tails are short and ringed.
Facial features include the whitish chin, spots, and streaks on the cheeks and the forehead, brownish or greenish eyes, white whiskers on the snout and near the ears, which are black on the back with a white horizontal band in the middle; three to four black stripes run from the back of the head onto the shoulders and then break into rows of spots. The white underbelly has dense and fluffy basal fur, and the soft guard hairs (the layer of fur protecting the basal fur) are 5-10 cm (2.0-3.9 in) long. Both leucistic and melanistic servals have been observed in captivity.
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Habitat and Distribution
Serval cats live in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, especially near wetlands, savannahs, and grasslands. Grassy home: Servals live near thickly planted streams and rivers in the savannas of central and southern Africa. They require habitats with plenty of water and tall vegetation to survive.
You can even find them in mountainous areas-some have been spotted at elevations as high as 3,800 meters (over 12,000 feet). It inhabits grasslands, moorlands, and bamboo thickets at high altitudes up to 3,800 m (12,500 ft) on Mount Kilimanjaro. Servals prefer habitats that offer them cover to hunt and access to water for drinking. They live in grasslands, wetlands, moorlands, and bamboo thickets, where dense vegetation helps them stay hidden from predators and allows them to sneak up on prey.
In North Africa, the serval is known only from Morocco and has been reintroduced in Tunisia, but is feared to be extinct in Algeria. It inhabits semi-arid areas and cork oak forests close to the Mediterranean Sea, but avoids rainforests and arid areas. It occurs in the Sahel, and is widespread in Southern Africa.
Distribution map of the Serval cat.
Behavior and Hunting
The extra-long legs and big ears might look funny, but they serve a purpose. They are crepuscular to avoid the heat of the day, although they do hunt at night when needed. Servals often share their savanna habitat with caracals and may compete with them for prey. Leopards, wild dogs, and hyenas are serval predators.
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Servals are famous for their incredible leaping ability - they are truly the high jump champions of the cat world! This Savannah cat can jump about 9 feet (2.7 m) straight up from a standing position. These vertical and horizontal powerful jumps help the serval catch birds and other prey that many other predators would miss. A serval can also leap forward over 13 feet in a single bound to land on a fleeing animal. How does the serval know where to jump? The secret is in those huge ears. Servals have the largest ears of any cat relative to their head size. And each ear has over 20 muscles allowing it to rotate up to 180 degrees. A serval’s sense of hearing is so sharp that it can detect the high-pitched squeaks of rodents underground. Often, a serval will sit or crouch quietly in the tall grass, listening intently.
"Wait and see" is the serval's main hunting strategy. A hungry cat waits in the tall grass at dawn or dusk, using its huge ears to listen for approaching prey before pouncing on its meal. Ultrasonic hearing ability allows the serval to hear the high-pitched communication of rodents.
The serval is active in the day as well as at night; activity might peak in early morning, around twilight, and at midnight. Servals might be active for a longer time on cool or rainy days. During the hot midday, they rest or groom themselves in the shade of bushes and grasses. Servals remain cautious of their vicinity, though they may be less alert when no large carnivores or prey animals are around. Servals walk as much as 2 to 4 km (1.2 to 2.5 mi) every night. Servals will often use special trails to reach certain hunting areas. A solitary animal, there is little social interaction among servals except in the mating season, when pairs of opposite sexes may stay together.
Instead of chasing down a target like a cheetah would, the serval takes a giant leap up into the air and then forces its body weight down upon the victim, trapping it beneath the front paws until the cat can deliver a deadly bite to the neck. The serval has a varied diet, eating birds, reptiles, frogs, crabs, and large insects. Standing on its hind legs, a serval can jump more than 9 feet (2.7 meters) straight up to grab a bird right out of the air! But small rodents are its most frequent prey item, and a serval doesn’t hesitate to reach a long leg down into a rodent's burrow to snatch a meal out of the tunnel!
The serval locates prey by its strong sense of hearing. It remains motionless for up to 15 minutes; when prey is within range, it jumps with all four feet up to 4 m (13 ft) in the air and attacks with its front paws. To kill small prey, it slowly stalks it, then pounces on it with the forefeet directed toward the chest, and finally lands on it with its forelegs outstretched. The prey, receiving a blow from one or both of the serval's forepaws, is incapacitated, and the serval bites it on the head or the neck and immediately swallows it. Snakes are dealt more blows and even bites, and may be consumed even as they are moving. Larger prey, such as larger birds, are killed by a sprint followed by a leap to catch them as they are trying to flee, and are eaten slowly. Servals have been observed caching large kills to be consumed later by concealing them in dead leaves and grasses.
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Servals typically get rid of the internal organs of rodents while eating, and pluck feathers from birds before consuming them. During a leap, a serval can reach more than 2 m (6 ft 7 in) above the ground and cover a horizontal distance of up to 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in). Servals appear to be efficient hunters; a study in Ngorongoro showed that servals were successful in half of their hunting attempts, regardless of the time of hunting, and a mother serval was found to have a success rate of 62%. The number of kills in a 24-hour period averaged 15 to 16.
Servals are so good at hunting that they succeed about 50% of the time, which makes them one of the most successful hunters of all wild cats. By comparison, much larger cats like lions might only succeed less than 30% of the time in their hunts. Interestingly, unlike many other cats, servals don’t scavenge or eat leftovers from other predators.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Servals do not have a specific breeding season, and even though each male's home range may overlap those of several females, they live separately most of the year. Both sexes establish highly overlapping home ranges of 10 to 32 km2 (3.9 to 12.4 sq mi), and mark them with feces and saliva.
Both sexes become sexually mature when they are one to two years old. Oestrus in females lasts one to four days; it typically occurs once or twice a year, though it can occur three or four times a year if the mother loses her litters. The time when mating takes place varies geographically; births peak in winter in Botswana, and toward the end of the dry season in the Ngorongoro Crater.
Adults scent mark trees and bushes with a spray of urine to mark their territory. A female serval ready to breed alerts any male in the area with very short and sharp calls or long yowls. The female serval raises her kittens alone, usually three kittens to a litter. They live in a den made of tall, thick grass or perhaps an abandoned burrow. The mother leaves her kittens most of the day while she hunts for food, returning to stay with them at night. Blind at birth, newborns weigh nearly 250 g (9 oz) and have soft, woolly hair (greyer than in adults) and unclear markings. The eyes open after nine to thirteen days.
Gestation lasts for two to three months, following which a litter of one to four kittens is born. Births take place in secluded areas, for example in dense vegetation or burrows abandoned by aardvarks and porcupines.
Weaning begins a month after birth; the mother brings small kills to her kittens and calls out to them as she approaches the "den". A mother with young kittens rests for a notably lesser time and has to spend almost twice the time and energy for hunting than do other servals. If disturbed, the mother shifts her kittens one by one to a more secure place. Kittens eventually start accompanying their mother to hunts. At around six months, they acquire their permanent canines and begin to hunt themselves; they leave their mother at about 12 months of age.
She accepts the presence of her female offspring longer than that of males: once the boys can hunt for themselves, usually at about six months old, they are no longer welcome at home but may be allowed to remain in the mother’s range for a while longer. Female offspring usually stay with their mother until they are about two years old.
The lifespan of the African serval cat is around 10 years in the wild, or an average of 22.4 years in captivity. Though they are not suitable pets, servals are often kept in captivity.
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Conservation Status and Threats
Serval populations have declined but are not considered endangered except for one subspecies, the North African serval Leptailurus serval constantinus. Serval cats are classed as least concern on the IUCN Red List, with stable populations across Africa. However, there is a small population along the Mediterranean coast where the species is regionally classified as critically endangered. There were fewer than 250 mature individuals here as of the last assessment in 2003.
However, like all wildlife, servals can be harmed by habitat loss, global climate change, and hunting for their beautiful fur. It takes the skin of many servals to produce one coat. The degradation of wetlands and grasslands is a major threat to the survival of the serval. Trade of serval skins, though on the decline, still occurs in countries such as Benin and Senegal. Fortunately, in many parts of the world the wearing of animal-skin coats for fashion is no longer popular.
Servals are important to their human neighbors because they catch rodents, which carry diseases and contaminate food supplies. Serval cats play an important role in their ecosystems. By hunting rodents and other small animals, they help keep ecosystems balanced, supporting healthy habitats for many other species.
Servals as Pets: Why It's a Bad Idea
Some people think it would be fun to own an exotic cat. This has led to a serval hybrid called the "savanna cat," a serval bred with a domestic cat. Non-domesticated wildlife, even those born in zoos, keep their instincts for hundreds, even thousands, of years, so these cats do NOT make good pets.
It might be tempting to think, “Wow, a serval is so beautiful and cat-like. Wouldn’t it be cool to have one as a pet?” In truth, serval cats can be dangerous and are not suited to life as pets. Remember, a serval is a wild animal through and through - even if it is born in captivity. Servals have strong predatory instincts and territorial behaviors that don’t disappear in a home. Even a highly-trained serval can suddenly act on its wild urges - like stalking a smaller house pet or scratching/biting if stressed.
Here’s why they don’t make good pets:
- Wild Instincts: Servals are wild animals with strong predatory instincts. Even when born in captivity, they retain their natural behaviors.
- Specialized Diet: Servals have a specific diet, primarily consisting of small mammals, birds, and insects. It’s hard to mimic that diet with grocery store cat food. Servals need lots of protein and calcium from bones, organs, etc. Maintaining a serval’s proper diet in captivity is challenging and expensive.
- Enclosure Requirements: Servals need a large, secure enclosure with ample space to roam, jump, and exercise. Servals are very active and need room to run, jump, and explore. They can leap onto high shelves or escape enclosures that aren’t extremely secure. A typical home is far too small, and keeping a serval confined can cause them great stress, which can lead to behavioral problems.
- Legal Restrictions: In many places, it’s illegal to own a serval as a pet due to their potential danger to humans and the exotic pet trade regulations. In many places, owning a serval (or any wild cat) is illegal without special permits - and sometimes it's illegal outright. These laws exist because servals are considered dangerous and to protect the species from exploitation.
- Lack of Socialization: Servals are solitary creatures in the wild, and they do not naturally adapt to living with humans or other domesticated animals. Unlike domestic cats that have been bred for thousands of years to live with humans, servals do not naturally bond with people. They are solitary by nature and can become stressed or aggressive if forced into constant human interactions.
The bottom line is, servals are wild animals and are best left in the wild. In recent years, there’s been a rising public interest in exotic pets like servals. It’s important to look beyond the glamour and understand the reality. The exotic pet trade often harms the animals that are caught up in it. Many servals in the pet trade are taken from the wild or bred in poor, inhumane conditions. When someone buys a serval kitten, they may not realize how quickly it will grow and how wild it will remain. As we discussed, owners cannot meet the needs of a serval long-term. Sadly, what often happens is the serval becomes unmanageable or aggressive, and the owner gives it up.
