Serval

{{Short description|Medium-sized wild cat}} {{About|the African feline species| | }} {{Good article}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{EngvarB|date=June 2016}} {{Speciesbox | image = Servalcropped.png | image_caption = In Tarangire National Park, Tanzania | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Leptailurus serval'' |amends=2015 |last=Thiel |first=C. |date=2019 |article-number=e.T11638A156536762 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T11638A156536762.en |access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A2 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = <ref name=iucn/> | genus = Leptailurus | parent_authority = Severtzov, 1858 | species = serval | display_parents = 3 | authority = (Schreber, 1776) | synonyms_ref = | synonyms = {{collapsible list |''Felis serval'' {{small|(Schreber, 1776)}} |''F. capensis'' {{small|(Forster, 1781)}} |''F. galeopardus'' {{small|(Desmarest, 1820)}} |''F. algiricus'' {{small|(J. B. Fischer, 1829)}} |''F. servalina'' {{small|(Ogilby, 1839)}} |''F. senegalensis'' {{small|(Lesson, 1839)}} |''F. ogilbyi'' {{small|(Schinz, 1844)}} |''Caracal serval''<ref name=Johnson_al2006>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.1122277 |title=The Late Miocene radiation of modern Felidae: A genetic assessment |year=2006 |last1=Johnson|first1=W. E. |journal=Science |volume=311 |issue=5757 |pages=73–77 |last2=Eizirik |first2=E.|last3=Pecon-Slattery |first3=J. |last4=Murphy |first4=W.J. |last5=Antunes |first5=A. |last6=Teeling |first6=E. |last7=O'Brien |first7=S. J. |pmid=16400146 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1230866 |bibcode=2006Sci...311...73J |s2cid=41672825}}</ref> }} | range_map = Serval_distribution.jpg | range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|#d37c20|native range in 2015<ref name=iucn/>}} {{leftlegend|#f0ad18|extinct}} | subdivision_ranks = Subspecies | subdivision = * ''L. s. serval'' * ''L. s. constantina'' * ''L. s. lipostictus'' }}

The '''serval''' ('''''Leptailurus serval''''') is a wild small cat native to Africa. It is widespread in sub-Saharan countries, where it inhabits grasslands, wetlands, moorlands and bamboo thickets. Across its range, it occurs in protected areas, and hunting it is either prohibited or regulated in range countries.

It is the sole member of the genus '''''Leptailurus'''''. Three subspecies are recognised. The serval is a slender, medium-sized cat that stands {{cvt|54|-|62|cm}} tall at the shoulder and has a weight range of approximately {{cvt|9|-|18|kg}}. It is characterised by a small head, large ears, a golden-yellow to buff coat spotted and striped with black, and a short, black-tipped tail. The serval has the longest legs of any cat relative to its body size.

The serval is a solitary carnivore and active both by day and at night. It preys on rodents, particularly vlei rats, small birds, frogs, insects, and reptiles, using its hearing to locate prey. It leaps over {{cvt|2|m|ftin}} above the ground to land on the prey on its forefeet, and kills it with a bite to the neck or the head. Both sexes establish highly overlapping home ranges of {{cvt|10|to|32|km2}}, and mark them with feces and saliva. Mating takes place at different times of the year in different parts of their range, but typically once or twice a year in an area. After a gestational period of two to three months, a litter of one to four kittens is born. They are weaned at the age of one month and begin hunting on their own at six months of age. They leave their mother at the age of around 12 months.

==Etymology== The name "serval" is derived from ''(lobo-) cerval'', i.e. Portuguese for lynx, used by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1765 for a spotted cat that was kept at the time in the Royal Menagerie in Versailles;<ref>{{cite book |last=Buffon |first=G.-L. L. |year=1765 |title=Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi |language=fr |volume=Tome 13 |publisher=Imprimerie Royale |location=Paris |pages=233–235 |chapter=Le Serval |chapter-url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k97502k/f291.image}}</ref> ''lobo-cerval'' is derived from Latin ''lupus cervarius'', literally and respectively "wolf" and "of or pertaining to deer".<ref>{{OEtymD|serval}}</ref><ref>{{L&S|lupus1|lupus}}, {{L&S|cervarius|ref}}</ref>

The name ''Leptailurus'' derives from the Greek {{lang|grc|λεπτός}} ''leptós'' meaning "fine, delicate", and {{lang|grc|αἴλουρος}} ''aílouros'' meaning "cat".<ref>{{LSJ|lepto/s|λεπτός}}, {{LSJ|ai)/louros|αἴλουρος|ref}}.</ref>

==Taxonomy == ''Felis serval'' was first described by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776.<ref name=Schreber1776>{{cite book |last=Schreber |first=J. C. D. |year=1778 |title=Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur, mit Beschreibungen |language=de |location=Erlangen |publisher=Wolfgang Walther |chapter=Der Serval |page=407 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/SaYugthiereAbbiIIISchr#page/406/mode/2up}}</ref> In the 19th and 20th centuries, the following serval zoological specimens were described: *''Felis constantina'' proposed by Georg Forster in 1780 was a specimen from the vicinity of Constantine, Algeria.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Forster |first1=G. R. |year=1780 |title=Herrn von Büffons Naturgeschichte der vierfüssigen Thiere. Mit Vermehrungen, aus dem Französischen übersetzt. Sechster Band |language=de |trans-title=Mr. von Büffon's Natural History of Quadrupeds. With additions, translated from French. Volume 6 |location=Berlin |publisher=Joachim Pauli |chapter=LIII. Der Karakal |pages=299–319 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qohRAAAAYAAJ&pg=SL26-PA13}}</ref> *''Felis servalina'' proposed by William Ogilby in 1839 was based on one serval skin from Sierra Leone with freckle-sized spots.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ogilby |first=W. |date=1839 |title=''Felis servalina'' |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |volume=7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofgen36zool/page/94 94] |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofgen36zool}}</ref> *''Felis brachyura'' proposed by Johann Andreas Wagner in 1841 was also a serval skin from Sierra Leone.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wagner |first=J. A. |year=1841 |title=Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen von Dr Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber |language=de |volume=Supplementband 2: Die Raubthiere |location=Erlangen |publisher=Expedition des Schreber'schen Säugthier- und des Esper'schen Schmetterlingswerkes |page=547 |chapter=''F. servalina'' Ogilb. |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/diesugthierein21841schr/page/547}}</ref> *''Felis (Serval) togoensis'' proposed by Paul Matschie in 1893 were two skins and three skulls from Togo.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Matschie |first=P. |year=1893 |title=Neue afrikanische Säugethiere |journal=Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin |language=de |issue=4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sitzungsberichte1893gese/page/107 107]–114 |url=https://archive.org/details/sitzungsberichte1893gese|doi=10.5962/bhl.part.9924 |doi-access=free }}</ref> *''Felis servalina pantasticta'' and ''F.&nbsp;s. liposticta'' proposed by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1907 were based on one serval from Entebbe in Uganda with a yellowish fur, and one serval skin from Mombasa in Kenya with dusky spots on its belly.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pocock |first=R. I. |date=1907 |title=Notes upon some African species of the genus ''Felis'', based upon specimens recently exhibited in the Society's gardens |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |volume=77 |issue=3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofzoo19074471121zool/page/656 656]–677 |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofzoo19074471121zool|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1907.tb06950.x }}</ref> *''Felis capensis phillipsi'' proposed by Glover Morrill Allen in 1914 was a skin and a skeleton of an adult male serval from El Garef at the Blue Nile in Sudan.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Allen |first=G. M. |date=1914 |title=Mammals from the Blue Nile valley |journal=Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College |volume=58 |issue=6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bulletinofmuseum58harv/page/n406 305]–357 |url=https://archive.org/details/bulletinofmuseum58harv}}</ref>

The generic name ''Leptailurus'' was proposed by Nikolai Severtzov in 1858.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Severtzov |first=N. |year=1858 |title=Notice sur la classification multisériale des carnivores, spécialement des Félidés, et les études de zoologie générale qui s'y rattachent |language=fr |journal=Revue et Magasin de Zoologie, Pure et Appliquée (2) |volume=10 |pages=3–8; 145–150; 193–196; 241–246; 385–393 |url=https://archive.org/stream/revueetmagasinde10soci#page/388/mode/2up}}</ref> The serval is the sole member of this genus.<ref name=MSW3>{{MSW3 Carnivora |id=14000132 |page=540 |heading=Species ''Leptailurus serval''}}</ref>

In 1944, Pocock recognised three serval races in North Africa.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pocock|first1=R. I. |title=Three races, one new, of the serval (''Leptailurus'') from North Africa |journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History |series=Series 11 |date=1944 |volume=11 |issue=82 |pages=690–698 |doi=10.1080/00222934408527466}}</ref> Three subspecies are recognised as valid since 2017:<ref name=catsg>{{cite journal |last1=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Breitenmoser-Würsten, C. |author3=Eizirik, E. |author4=Gentry, A. |author5=Werdelin, L. |author6=Wilting, A. |author7=Yamaguchi, N. |author8=Abramov, A. V. |author9=Christiansen, P. |author10=Driscoll, C. |author11=Duckworth, J. W. |author12=Johnson, W. |author13=Luo, S.-J. |author14=Meijaard, E. |author15=O'Donoghue, P. |author16=Sanderson, J. |author17=Seymour, K. |author18=Bruford, M. |author19=Groves, C. |author20=Hoffmann, M. |author21=Nowell, K. |author22=Timmons, Z. |author23=Tobe, S. |year=2017 |title=A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 11 |pages=58–60 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y}}</ref> *''L. s. serval'', the nominate subspecies, in Southern Africa *''L. s. constantina'' in Central and West Africa *''L. s. lipostictus'' in East Africa

=== Phylogeny === The phylogenetic relationships of the serval have remained in dispute; in 1997, palaeontologists M.&nbsp;C. McKenna and S.&nbsp;K. Bell classified ''Leptailurus'' as a subgenus of ''Felis'', while others like O.&nbsp;R.&nbsp;P. Bininda-Edmonds (of the Technical University of Munich) have grouped it with ''Felis'', ''Lynx'' and ''Caracal''. Studies in the 2000s and the 2010s show that the serval, along with the caracal and the African golden cat, forms one of the eight lineages of Felidae. According to a 2006 genetic study, the ''Caracal'' lineage came into existence 8.5&nbsp;million years ago, and the ancestor of this lineage arrived in Africa 8.5–5.6&nbsp;mya.<ref name=Johnson_al2006/><ref name=werdelin>{{cite book |last1=Werdelin|first1=L.|last2=Yamaguchi|first2=N.|last3=Johnson|first3=W. E.|last4=O'Brien|first4=S. J. |contribution=Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae) |date=2010 |pages=59–82 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142 |editor1-last=Macdonald |editor1-first=D. W. |editor2-last=Loveridge |editor2-first=A. J. |title=Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids |publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0-19-923445-5 |edition=Reprinted}}</ref>

The phylogenetic relationships of the serval are as follows:<ref name=Johnson_al2006/><ref name=werdelin/> {{clade |style=font-size:90%;line-height:75%; |label1= |1={{clade |1={{clade |label1=''Pardofelis'' |1=Marbled cat (''P. marmorata'') |label2=''Catopuma'' |2={{clade |1=Bay cat (''Catopuma badia'') |2=Asian golden cat (''Catopuma temminckii'') }} }} |2=|state2=none |style2=font-size:50%;line-height:50%; |3={{clade |1={{clade |label1=Caracal |sublabel1=lineage |1={{clade |label1=''Leptailurus'' |1='''Serval''' (''L. serval'') |label2=''Caracal'' |2={{clade |1=Caracal (''Caracal caracal'') |2=African golden cat (''Caracal aurata'') }} }} |2={{clade |1=''Leopardus'' |1x={{clade |1={{clade |1=Ocelot (''L. pardalis'') |2=Margay (''L. wiedii'') }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Andean mountain cat (''L. jacobita'') |2=Colocolo (''L. colocolo'') }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Geoffroy's cat (''L. geoffroyi'') |2=Kodkod (''L. guigna'') }} |2=Oncilla (''L. tigrinus'') }} }} }} |2={{clade |1=''Lynx'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Acinonyx'' |2=''Puma'' }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Otocolobus'' |2=''Prionailurus'' }} |2=''Felis'' }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}

===Hybrid=== {{Main|Savannah cat}}

In April 1986, the first savannah cat, a hybrid between a male serval and a female domestic cat, was born; it was larger than a typical domestic kitten and resembled its father in its coat pattern. It appeared to have inherited a few domestic cat traits, such as tameness, from its mother. This cat breed may have a dog-like habit of following its owner about, is adept at jumping and leaping, and can be a good swimmer. Over the years it has gained popularity as a pet.<ref>{{cite journal |title=(Untitled notice) |first=Suzi |last=Wood |date=November 1986 |journal=LIOC Endangered Species Conservation Federation Newsletter |publisher=Long Island Ocelot Club |volume=30 |issue=6 |page=15 |url=https://www.felineconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/30-6.pdf#page=15 |access-date=17 January 2023 |archive-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116122444/https://www.felineconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/30-6.pdf#page=15 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Characteristics== [[File:Serval at Auckland Zoo - Flickr - 111 Emergency.jpg|thumb|A captive serval in Auckland Zoo]] [[File:Serval imported from iNaturalist photo 27691409 on 6 December 2024.jpg|thumb|Melanistic serval, in Kenya]] [[File:WhiteServalPharaoh.jpg|thumb|Leucistic serval at Big Cat Rescue]] The serval is a slender, medium-sized cat; it stands {{cvt|54|to(-)|62|cm}} at the shoulder and weighs {{cvt|8|to(-)|18|kg}}, but females tend to be lighter. The head-and-body length is typically between {{cvt|67|and(-)|100|cm}}.<ref name="estes">{{cite book|last1=Estes|first1=R. D. |title=The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates |date=2004 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, US|isbn=978-0-520-08085-0 |pages=361–363 |edition=Forth |chapter=Serval ''Felis serval'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858/page/361}}</ref> Males tend to be sturdier than females.<ref name=Kingdon>{{cite book |editor1=Kingdon, J. |editor1-link=Jonathan Kingdon |editor2=Happold, D. |editor3=Butynski, T. |editor4=Hoffmann, M. |editor5=Happold, M. |editor6=Kalina, J. |title=Mammals of Africa |year=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London, UK|isbn=978-1-4081-8996-2 |pages=180–184 |last1=Hunter, L. |last2=Bowland, J. |chapter=''Leptailurus serval'' Serval |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B_07noCPc4kC&pg=RA4-PA181}}</ref> Prominent characteristics include the small head, large ears, spotted and striped coat, long legs and a black-tipped tail that is around {{cvt|30|cm}} long.<ref name="LL">{{cite book |last1=Liebenberg|first1=L.|title=A Field Guide to the Animal Tracks of Southern Africa |date=1990 |publisher=David Philip Publishers |location=Cape Town, South Africa |isbn=978-0-86486-132-0 |page=257 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5570017}}</ref><ref name=Schutze>{{cite book |last1=Schütze |first1=H. |title=Field Guide to the Mammals of the Kruger National Park |date=2002 |publisher=Struik Publishers |location=Cape Town, South Africa |isbn=978-1-86872-594-6 |pages=98–99 |url={{Google Books |id=uA3KTUA8kO8C|page=98 |plainurl=yes}} }}{{Dead link |date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The serval has the longest legs of any cat relative to its body size, largely due to the greatly elongated metatarsal bones in the feet.<ref name=WCoW>{{cite book |last1=Sunquist |first1=M. |last2=Sunquist |first2=F. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |title=Wild Cats of the World |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago, US |pages=142–151 |isbn=978-0-226-77999-7 |chapter=Serval ''Leptailurus serval'' (Schrever, 1776) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hFbJWMh9-OAC&pg=PA143}}</ref><ref name=Hunterwcw>{{cite book|last1=Hunter |first1=L. |title=Wild Cats of the World |date=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London, UK |isbn=978-1-4729-2285-4 |page=75}}</ref> The toes are elongated as well, and unusually mobile.<ref name=WCoW/>

The coat is golden-yellow to buff and extensively marked with black spots and stripes.<ref name=Kingdon/> The spots show great variation in size.<ref name=WCoW/> Facial features include the whitish chin, spots, and streaks on the cheeks and the forehead, brownish or greenish eyes, white whiskers on the snout and near the ears, which are black on the back with a white horizontal band in the middle; three to four black stripes run from the back of the head onto the shoulders and then break into rows of spots. The white underbelly has dense and fluffy basal fur, and the soft guard hairs (the layer of fur protecting the basal fur) are {{cvt|5|-|10|cm}} long. Guard hairs are up to {{cvt|3|cm}} long on the neck, back and flanks, and are merely {{cvt|1|cm}} long on the face.<ref name=Schutze/><ref name=Skinner/> The serval has a good sense of smell, hearing and vision.<ref name=Schutze/>

The serval is similar to the sympatric caracal, but has a narrower spoor, a rounder skull, and lacks its prominent ear tufts.<ref name=Kingdon/> The closely set ears can rotate up to 180 degrees independently of each other<ref name=WCoW/> and help in locating prey efficiently.<ref name=Hunter>{{cite book|last1=Hunter |first1=L. |last2=Hinde |first2=G. |title=Cats of Africa: Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation |year=2005 |publisher=Struik Publishers |location=Cape Town, South Africa |isbn=978-1-77007-063-9 |pages=76; 158}}</ref>

Both leucistic and melanistic servals have been observed in captivity. In addition, the melanistic variant has been sighted in the wild,<ref name=WCoW/> with most melanistic servals having been observed in Kenya.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Exclusive: Rare Black Wildcat Caught on Film in Africa |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/black-serval-kenya-melanism-cats |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228005227/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/black-serval-kenya-melanism-cats |archive-date=28 February 2021 |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=Animals}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat == In North Africa, the serval is known only from Morocco and has been reintroduced in Tunisia, but is feared to be extinct in Algeria. It inhabits semi-arid areas and cork oak forests close to the Mediterranean Sea, but avoids rainforests and arid areas. It occurs in the Sahel, and is widespread in Southern Africa. It inhabits grasslands, moorlands, and bamboo thickets at high altitudes up to {{cvt|3800|m}} on Mount Kilimanjaro. It prefers areas close to water bodies such as wetland and savanna, which provide cover such as reeds and tall grasses.<ref name=iucn/><ref name=Kingdon/> In the East Sudanian Savanna, it was recorded in the transboundary Dinder–Alatash protected area complex during surveys between 2015 and 2018.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Bauer, H. |author2=Mohammed, A. A. |author3=El Faki, A. |author4=Hiwytalla, K. O. |author5=Bedin, E. |author6=Rskay, G. |author7=Sitotaw, E. |author8=Sillero-Zubiri, C. |name-list-style=amp |year=2018|title=Antelopes of the Dinder-Alatash transboundary Protected Area, Sudan and Ethiopia |journal=Gnusletter |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=26–30 |url=https://www.marwell.org.uk/media/other/GNUSLETTER_Vol_35_12018.pdf#page=26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703060238/https://www.marwell.org.uk/media/other/GNUSLETTER_Vol_35_12018.pdf|archive-date=3 July 2021}}</ref>

In Zambia's Luambe National Park, the population density was recorded as {{cvt|0.1|/km2|/sqmi|abbr=off}} in 2011.<ref name=Thiel>{{cite thesis |last1=Thiel |first1=C.|title=Ecology and population status of the serval ''Leptailurus serval'' (Schreber, 1776) in Zambia |publisher=University of Bonn |date=2011 |pages=1–265 |url=http://hss.ulb.uni-bonn.de/2011/2586/2586a.pdf}}</ref> In South Africa, the serval was recorded in Free State, eastern Northern Cape, and southern North West.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Herrmann |first1=E.|last2=Kamler|first2=J. F. |last3=Avenant|first3=N. L. |name-list-style=amp |title=New records of servals ''Leptailurus serval'' in central South Africa |journal=South African Journal of Wildlife Research |date=2008 |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=185–188 |doi=10.3957/0379-4369-38.2.185 |s2cid=131285183}}</ref> In Namibia, it is present in Khaudum and Mudumu National Parks.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Edwards |first1=S.|last2=Portas |first2=R. |last3=Hanssen |first3=L. |last4=Beytel |first4=P. |last5=Melzheimer|first5=J. |last6=Stratford |first6=K. |name-list-style=amp |title=The spotted ghost: Density and distribution of serval ''Leptailurus serval'' in Namibia |journal=African Journal of Ecology |date=2018 |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=831–840 |doi=10.1111/aje.12540 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018AfJEc..56..831E}}</ref>

==Behaviour and ecology== thumb|upright|The serval's white spots on the backs of its ears are thought to play an important role in communication.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leyhausen |first1=P. |year=1979 |title=Cat behavior: the predatory and social behavior of domestic and wild cats |location=Berlin |publisher=Garland Publishing, Incorporated |page=281 |isbn=978-0-8240-7017-5}}</ref> The serval is active both in the day and at night; activity might peak in early morning, around twilight, and at midnight. Servals might be active for a longer time on cool or rainy days. During the hot midday, they rest or groom themselves in the shade of bushes and grasses. Servals remain cautious of their vicinity, though they may be less alert when no large carnivores or prey animals are around. Servals walk as much as {{cvt|2|to|4|km}} every night.<ref name=LL/><ref name=estes/> Servals will often use special trails to reach certain hunting areas. A solitary animal, there is little social interaction among servals except in the mating season, when pairs of opposite sexes may stay together. The only long-lasting bond appears to be of the mother and her cubs, which leave their mother only when they are a year old.<ref name=Kingdon/>

Both males and females establish home ranges, and are most active only in certain regions ('core areas') within them. The area of these ranges can vary from {{cvt|10|to|32|sqkm}}; prey density, availability of cover and human interference could be significant factors in determining their size.<ref name=Kingdon/><ref name=Geertsema>{{cite journal|last1=Geertsema|first1=A. A.|title=Aspects of the ecology of the serval ''Leptailurus serval'' in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania |journal=Netherlands Journal of Zoology |date=1984 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=527–610 |doi=10.1163/002829685X00217 |bibcode=1984NJZoo..35..527G |s2cid=83574432}}</ref> Home ranges might overlap extensively, but occupants show minimal interaction. Aggressive encounters are rare, as servals appear to mutually avoid one another rather than fight and defend their ranges. On occasions where two adult servals meet in conflict over territory, a ritualistic display may ensue, in which one will place a paw on the other's chest while observing their rival closely; this interaction rarely escalates into a fight.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Serval |url=https://www.theanimalfacts.com/mammals/serval/ |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=The Animal Facts}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Serval |url=http://www.altinawildlife.com/serval/ |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=Altina Wildlife Park}}</ref>

Agonistic behavior involves vertical movement of the head (contrary to the horizontal movement observed in other cats), raising the hair and the tail, displaying the teeth and the white band on the ears, and yowling. Individuals mark their ranges and preferred paths by spraying urine on nearby vegetation, dropping scats along the way, and rubbing their mouths on grasses or the ground while releasing saliva. Servals tend to be sedentary, shifting only a few kilometres away even if they leave their range.<ref name=Kingdon/><ref name=estes/>

The serval is vulnerable to hyenas and African wild dogs. When threatened by a predator, it will seek cover to escape its view, and, if the predator is very close, immediately flee in long leaps, changing its direction frequently and with the tail raised.<ref name=estes/> The serval is an efficient, though not frequent, climber; an individual was observed to have climbed a tree to a height of more than {{cvt|9|m}} to escape dogs.<ref name=WCoW/> Like many cats, the serval is able to purr;<ref name="Eklund_purring">{{cite web |last=Eklund |first=R. |date=2004 |title=Devoted to felid purring |url=http://purring.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727182328/http://purring.org/ |archive-date=2024-07-27 |access-date=2013-03-07 |website=Purring.org |at=4.2 Serval}}</ref> it also has a high-pitched chirp, and can hiss, cackle, growl, grunt, and meow.<ref name=WCoW/>

===Hunting and diet=== thumb|A serval pouncing The serval is a carnivore that preys on rodents, particularly vlei rats, shrews, small birds, hares, frogs, insects, and reptiles, and also feeds on grass that can facilitate digestion or act as an emetic.<ref name=ADW>{{cite web |title=''Leptailurus serval'' (Serval) |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Leptailurus_serval |work=Animal Diversity Web}}</ref> Up to 90% of the preyed animals weigh less than {{cvt|200|g|oz}}; occasionally it also hunts larger prey such as duikers, hares, flamingoes, spoonbills, waterfowl and young antelopes.<ref name=WCoW/><ref name=ADW/> The percentage of rodents in the diet has been estimated at 80–97%.<ref name=Geertsema/><ref name=Smithers1978>{{cite journal |last=Smithers |first=R. H. N. |title=Serval ''Felis serval'' Schreber, 1776|journal=South African Journal of Wildlife Research |year=1978 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=29–37}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bowland|first1=J. M.|last2=Perrin|first2=M. R.|title=Diet of serval (''Leptailurus serval'') in a highland region of Natal|journal=South African Journal of Zoology |year=1993 |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=132–135 |doi=10.1080/02541858.1993.11448308 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Apart from vlei rats, other rodents recorded frequently in the diet include the African grass rat, African pygmy mouse and multimammate mice.<ref name=Kingdon/>

The serval locates prey by its strong sense of hearing. It remains motionless for up to 15 minutes; when prey is within range, it jumps with all four feet up to {{cvt|4|m}} in the air and attacks with its front paws.<ref name=Smithers1978/> To kill small prey, it slowly stalks it, then pounces on it with the forefeet directed toward the chest, and finally lands on it with its forelegs outstretched. The prey, receiving a blow from one or both of the serval's forepaws, is incapacitated, and the serval bites it on the head or the neck and immediately swallows it. Snakes are dealt more blows and even bites, and may be consumed even as they are moving. Larger prey, such as larger birds, are killed by a sprint followed by a leap to catch them as they are trying to flee, and are eaten slowly. Servals have been observed caching large kills to be consumed later by concealing them in dead leaves and grasses. Servals typically get rid of the internal organs of rodents while eating, and pluck feathers from birds before consuming them. During a leap, a serval can reach more than {{cvt|2|m|ftin}} above the ground and cover a horizontal distance of up to {{cvt|3.6|m|ftin}}. Servals appear to be efficient hunters; a study in Ngorongoro showed that servals were successful in half of their hunting attempts, regardless of the time of hunting, and a mother serval was found to have a success rate of 62%. The number of kills in a 24-hour period averaged 15 to 16. Scavenging has been observed, but very rarely.<ref name=WCoW/><ref name=Kingdon/>

===Reproduction=== thumb|left|Two young servals Both sexes become sexually mature when they are one to two years old. Oestrus in females lasts one to four days; it typically occurs once or twice a year, though it can occur three or four times a year if the mother loses her litters.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wackernagel|first1=H.|title=A note on breeding the serval cat ''Felis serval'' at Basle Zoo|journal=International Zoo Yearbook|date=1968|volume=8|issue=1|pages=46–47|doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1968.tb00433.x}}</ref> Observations of captive servals suggest that when a female enters oestrus, the rate of urine-marking increases in her as well as the males in her vicinity. Zoologist Jonathan Kingdon described the behavior of a female serval in oestrus in his 1997 book ''East African Mammals''. He noted that she would roam restlessly, spray urine frequently holding her vibrating tail in a vertical manner, rub her head near the place she has marked, salivate continuously, give out sharp and short "miaow"s that can be heard for quite a distance, and rub her mouth and cheeks against the face of an approaching male. The time when mating takes place varies geographically; births peak in winter in Botswana, and toward the end of the dry season in the Ngorongoro Crater. A trend generally observed across the range is that births precede the breeding season of murid rodents.<ref name=WCoW/>

Gestation lasts for two to three months, after which a litter of one to four kittens is born. Births take place in secluded areas, for example in dense vegetation or burrows abandoned by aardvarks and porcupines. Blind at birth, newborns weigh nearly {{convert|250|g|oz|0|abbr=on}} and have soft, woolly hair (greyer than in adults) and unclear markings. The eyes open after nine to thirteen days. Weaning begins a month after birth; the mother brings small kills to her kittens and calls out to them as she approaches the "den".<ref name=WCoW/> A mother with young kittens rests for a notably lesser time and has to spend almost twice the time and energy for hunting than do other servals.<ref name=Geertsema/> If disturbed, the mother moves her kittens one by one to a safer place.<ref name="Skinner">{{cite book |year=2005 |title=The mammals of the southern African subregion |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-84418-5 |editor1-last=Skinner |editor1-first=J. D. |editor2-last=Chimimba |editor2-first=C. T. |edition=Third |last1=Mills |first1=M. G. L. |chapter=Genus ''Leptailurus'' Severtzov, 1858 |pages=408–412 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iqwEYkTDZf4C&pg=PA408}}</ref> Kittens eventually start accompanying their mother to hunts. At around six months, they acquire their permanent canines and begin to hunt themselves; they leave their mother at about 12 months of age. They may reach sexual maturity from 12 to 25 months of age.<ref name=WCoW/> Life expectancy is about 10 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tonkin |first=B. A. |year=1972 |title=Notes on longevity in three species of felids |journal=International Zoo Yearbook |volume=12 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1972.tb02319.x |pages=181–182}}</ref>

== Conservation == [[File:Serval (8373405687).jpg|thumb|right|A serval in Diergaarde Blijdorp]] The degradation of wetlands and grasslands is a major threat to the survival of the serval. Trade of serval skins, though on the decline, still occurs in countries such as Benin and Senegal. In West Africa, the serval has significance in traditional medicine. Pastoralists often kill servals to protect their livestock, though servals generally do not prey on livestock.<ref name=iucn/>

The serval is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List, and is included in CITES Appendix''&nbsp;''II. It occurs in several protected areas across its range. Hunting of servals is prohibited in Algeria, Botswana, Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tunisia, and South Africa's Cape Province; hunting regulations apply in Angola, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, and Zambia.<ref name=iucn/>

==In culture== The association of servals with human beings dates to the time of Ancient Egypt.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Faure|first1=E.|last2=Kitchener|first2=A. C.|title=An archaeological and historical review of the relationships between felids and people|journal=Anthrozoös |date=2009|volume=22|issue=3|pages=221–238 |doi=10.2752/175303709X457577|s2cid=84308532}}</ref> Servals are depicted as gifts or traded objects from Nubia in Egyptian art.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Engels|first1=D. W.|title=Classical Cat: The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Cat|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|location=Abingdon, UK|isbn=978-1-134-69293-4|url={{Google Books|id=NwkeCwAAQBAJ|page=PT80|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref>

Servals are occasionally kept as pets, although their wild nature means that ownership of servals is regulated in some countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/bigcats/canada.php|title=Regulations Concerning the Private Possession of Big Cats |publisher=Library of Congress|date=2013 |access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://spca.bc.ca/ways-to-help/take-action/exotic-pets/exotic-animal-laws-restrictions/ |title=Exotic pet laws in B.C. |work=BC SPCA |publisher=The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals |access-date=6 April 2018 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/11/05/exotic-cat-fad-concerning-to-many-pet-experts/|title=Wild Cat Hybrid Fad in California Concerning To Pet Experts|date=2013|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> Servals can also be crossed with domestic cats to produce the savannah cat breed.<ref name="NewYorker-2013">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/05/06/living-room-leopards |title=Living-Room Leopards |first=Ariel |last=Levy |date=29 April 2013 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=6 April 2018 |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305063002/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/05/06/living-room-leopards |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="tica-intro">{{cite web |url=https://www.tica.org/breeds/browse-all-breeds?view=article&id=870:savannah-breed&catid=79 |title=Savannah Breed |date=13 August 2018 |work=TICA.org |publisher=The International Cat Association |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116125448/https://www.tica.org/breeds/browse-all-breeds?view=article&id=870:savannah-breed&catid=79 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Leptailurus serval}} {{Wiktionary|serval}} *{{cite web |title=Serval |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |url=http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=109 |access-date=16 December 2014 |archive-date=24 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324133541/http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=109 |url-status=dead }} *{{cite web|url=https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/serval|title=Serval|access-date=10 March 2021|publisher=African Wildlife Foundation}}

{{Carnivora|Fe.}} {{Feliformia|Fel.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from1=Q10859013|from2=Q42699|from3=Q109647291}} {{Authority control}} {{Portal bar|Cats|Mammals|Animals|Africa}}

Category:Leptailurus Category:Felidae of Africa Category:Mammals of Sub-Saharan Africa Category:Mammals of Africa Category:Mammals of North Africa Category:Mammals of Angola Category:Mammals of Botswana Category:Mammals of West Africa Category:Mammals of Kenya Category:Mammals of Namibia Category:Mammals of South Africa Category:Mammals of Tanzania Category:Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Category:Mammals of Uganda Category:Mammals of Zambia Category:Mammals described in 1776 Category:Taxa named by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber