North African Serval

Physical Description

v     Serval have the largest ears and longest legs, relative to their body size, in the cat family.

v     Body length ranges from 670 to 1000 mm

v     tail length from 240 to 450 mm

v     Shoulder height from 540 to 620 mm.

v     Males are generally larger than females.

v     Their remarkably long legs can constitute much of their height and are used to see over savanna grasses, aiding in prey detection.

v     The auditory bullae and pinnae of the ear are enlarged to aid in the detection of prey that emit high frequency sounds.

v     The ears are rounded with white stripes on the back and they rest on a small, elongate head.

v     The pelage is reddish-brown with dark spots that may merge into stripes along the back.

v     There is regional variation in coloration.

v      Serval that inhabit wetter areas have finer markings and those that inhabit drier areas have fur with large, bold spots.

Reproduction

v     Little is known about the mating behavior of servals.

v     Mating is not seasonal.

v     During estrous males and females will hunt and rest together for several days.

v     Gestation lasts from 65 to 75 days.

v     On average 3 young are born per litter.

Behavior

v     Servals are that are very independent animals that primarily communicate through urine spraying and rubbing saliva on objects.

v      They also communicate using vocalizations such as shrill cries, growls and purring.

v     Fighting between servals is usually avoided, but can occur when home ranges overlap.

v     Servals will take cover when surprised.

v     When threatened directly they will raise their tail and flee using sudden direction changes and leap.

v     Servals are primarily crepuscular.

v     Their peak activity times are between ten and eleven and at night , four and five in the morning.

v     Hunting and bringing food back to the young takes up  of the most part of the day for a female serval.

v      While she is gone the kittens are hidden in a den built with thick, tall grass.

v     Mothers will hunt for male kittens only until they are able to hunt by themselves.

v      Mothers will stand female kittens for longer periods of time . This may be why more females than males in overlapping home ranges are closely related

Food Habits

v     Servals are carnivorous, their diet consists primarily of hares, mole rats, ground squirrels, vlei rats, quails, gueleas, frogs, and flamingos.

v     They catch their prey by leaping and landing on their victims with both front paws.

v     They also have the ability to reach into deep holes or enter the water to catch prey.

v     If a serval misses its prey after the first try it will generally move on.

v     When a prey is caught it will generally be played with before it is eaten.

v     Servals are very efficient hunters due to their ability to leap up to ten feet into the air and due to their ability to turn sharply, and change direction at full speed.

v     They are so efficient that on average 40% of pounces during the day and 59% of pounces during the night are successful.