The Servals fur is sandy to reddish-brown with dark spots all over body that sometimes will merge into lings on their back. They have rings around their tail and a dark spot at the tip of their tail. Their underbelly is lighter in color to the rest of their fur. The Servals markings differ depending were they live. In wetter areas they tend to have finer markings, while those in drier areas have bolder and more markings. Servals have small heads with big rounded ears with black and white stripes on ears. There are also black Servals called, Melanistic Servals, though they are rare.
The Serval is a medium sized wild cat (about the same size as the Caracal) with very long legs. They stand about 20in (50cm) tall at the shoulder and are about 3-4 feet (91-120cm) long. They weight about 20-40 pounds. The males are bigger then the females. They are very slender and have a long neck and large ears a short tail, about 1 foot (30 cm) long.
The Serval lives in parts of Africa in dry open plains to woodland savannah to moister areas and grassy upland to mountains, close to water.
Servals prey on reptiles, birds and small mammals such as hare, rodents, birds, and small antelope. They usually hunt at night but others will hunt at dawn and dusk. Their large ears help them to locate animals and they can even hear rodents tunneling under the ground and they dig them up. They mostly use their ears to find prey but they also have very good eyes. They are also very good climbers and fast runners for short distances and good leapers. The Servals natural enemy is hyenas, African wild dogs and leopards.
Servals are solitary animals like most cats and live on their territory of up to 5 square miles.
The gestation period of a Serval is about 70 days and they give birth to a litter of 1-3 kittens that are usually born in the summer. The mother Serval will keep moving her kittens to different hiding places while they are young so other animals can’t find them because she raises them by herself and needs to leave them to go hunting. The kitten’s markings are similar to that of the adult Serval.
The Scientific name is Felis Serval
For more pictures go to Serval Gallery
