Common Name: Serval

Scientific Name: Leptailurus serval

Serval in Safari Canyon presentation

Description: A tall, lightly built spotted cat. Exceptionally long legs and neck. Coat ranges from a cream to tawny brown with black spots. Weight ranges from 9 to 17 kg. The serval possesses keen sight and hearing. Most of its life is terrestrial and nocturnal.

Range: Africa

Habitat: Prefers habitat near streams and rivers with thick vegetation.

Diet: Carnvirous: small prey. Birds and rodents. Verticle jumps of 3 m for flying birds are known.

Social Life: Predominantly solitary. After a gestation of of two and a half months, one to four young are born. Mothers have been known to have two litters in a year. Longevity has approached twenty years in captivity.

Conservation: Eastern Africa has extensively hunted the cat for its pelt as has South Africa where it is now considered rare.

Recommended LINKS & BOOKS

Africam's Field Guide page on servals.

The World Conservation Union's serval information page

Dr. David Macdonald's Encyclopedia of Mammals is one of the great standards for mammal information including the cats. Purchase it through Amazon.com by clicking on the photo to help the zoo!

Another excellent text on African mammals is The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals.