Wildlife
Servals are long-legged cats, widely distributed in Sub Saharan Africa, with the extraordinary capability of leaping three metres in the air to catch birds and insects in flight. Servals are carnivorous and their diet consists mostly of hares and mole rats, which they catch by pouncing and landing on their victims with both front paws. This is actually a very efficient way of hunting and almost half of these giant leaps are successful.
Scientific name: Leptailurus serval
Rank: Species
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Black cats
A rare and unusual looking serval is on the prowl.
A rare and unusual looking serval is on the prowl.
Deadly dentures
The carnivores' diet of meat requires specialist teeth.
The carnivores' diet of meat requires specialist teeth.
Mountain servals
The beautiful and elusive serval hunts for its dinner.
Though difficult to find, servals are surprisingly common in the Aberdares Range in Kenya. They spend the day hunting mice and moles. It takes real stealth and patience to catch the prey on offer in the area. A rare genetic mutation has meant that half the population in the area are now totally black. With a lack of competitors they may actually benefit from the extra warmth absorbed by a black coat.
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Serval can be found in a number of locations including: Africa. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Serval distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Least Concern
Population trend: Stable
Year assessed: 2008
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
The serval (/ˈsɜrvəl/) (Leptailurus serval) known in Afrikaans as Tierboskat, "tiger-bush-cat", is a medium-sized African wild cat. DNA studies have shown that the serval is closely related to the African golden cat and the caracal.
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Desert
Flooded grassland
Mediterranean forest
Mountain grassland
Tropical dry forest
Tropical grassland
Helpless young
Camouflage
Carnivorous
Acoustic communication
Maternal care
Polymorphism
Predator
Adapted to running
Chemical communication
Viviparous