Serval
Scientific name
Leptailurus serval
Size and weight
54 to 62 cm tall at the shoulder and 100 cm long
9 to 18 kg
Diet
Rodents, small birds, frogs, reptiles and insects
Conservation status
Least concern
Native habitat
Servals live in 35 countries across Africa, usually near water and long grasses
Lifespan
10 years
Meet our servals
We have two servals, Zuri the female and Yaro the male. Zuri is pale yellow with small spots and is the more outgoing of the two. Yaro is a darker golden colour with big spots and is the gentle, playful one. Whilst Zuri is definitely the boss (often stealing Yaro’s food before he’s had a chance to take a bite!), the pair get on very well. They are often heard purring at each other and always sleep snuggled up together on their box crate. Their favourite food is rabbit and they love chasing after locusts. They have a blast when we hang food on a bungee to test their jumping skills and they love hunting for food hidden in a cardboard box!
About the serval
Servals have the longest legs of any cat relative to their body size. They can leap up to three metres high and pounce four metres across, which is perfect for catching birds in mid-air or surprising small mammals in the grass. They’re also excellent swimmers and climbers, which helps them find food and escape predators like lions and hyenas. Servals catch their prey in nearly half of all attempts – making them the most successful hunters of all cats. In comparison, tigers are only successful 10 per cent of the time.
Servals face threats like habitat loss, hunting for their skins in some countries, traditional medicine, and being killed to protect livestock, even though they don’t usually hunt livestock.
Did you know?
- servals are considered small cats – small cats can purr but they can’t roar
- they can eat up to 4,000 rodents a year
- because they’re small, servals often get chased away from their food by bigger predators
- with their small head, big ears, short tail, and long legs, servals have earned the nickname “the cat of spare parts”
- sometimes servals can be melanistic, which means they’re completely black
- they have been spotted 3,800m up Mount Kilimanjaro, that’s pretty high!
