Servals
Scientific Name: Leptailurus serval
Habitat
Servals live in one place besides captivity, and that is in the wild plains of Africa. Like many animals that live there, they live in the wild, golden, free grass in the shade of acacia trees and by the cold watering holes. They live with other animals like zebras, lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, African golden cats, and African wildcats. Also, they live in solitary, not hunting in groups like lions or anything like that.
Diet
Servals eat pretty small prey, which is why their ears are so big. They need to hear the tiny movements of the small animals.They hunt and eat things that live on savannas with them like rodents, birds, hare, reptiles, insects, fish, and frogs. Also, sometimes they can be seen eating slightly larger prey like deer and gazelle. They eat by pouncing and quickly killing and eating prey.
Description
Servals are a bit larger than regular household cats. Also, They have very large, round ears so that they can hear their prey really, really well. Their coats are usually tan or tawny with bold black spots. However, in captivity, there have been four servals with bright white coats and black spots. Up by a serval's shoulder blades, there are long black stripes that end abruptly and that's where the spots continue. Their tails are somewhat short, but no near as short as a bobcat's tail. Their eyes are long and oval-shaped to support their phenomenal vision. They all have four legs with one paw per leg. They have darn sharp claws on each of their toes, which are used for hunting.
Types
There are no actual different species of serval, even though there are tons of sub species. None of the sub species have special names, though, just special scientific names. That's all there is to it.
Fun Facts
- Depending on where they live, there's a possibility that a serval is nocturnal.
- The name "serval" comes from the Portuguese word which means "wolf-deer"
- A serval can actually jump into the air to catch birds flying by.
- The servals hind legs are a little bit longer then their front legs. Isn't that odd?