Just how big are those ears? If we had ears in the same proportion to our head as servals do, they would be the size of dinner plates! Here's how French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon described the serval back in the year , in his reference work Natural History, General and Particular : "…he runs through a considerable space in an instant, and may be said only to appear and disappear….
This serval resembles the cat in its figure, and the tiger that is the panther or leopard by the black and white spot of its hair. Grassy home: Servals live near thickly planted streams and rivers in the savannas of central and southern Africa.
Unlike many other cats, these small felines love to climb, leap, and play in water. They are crepuscular to avoid the heat of the day, although they do hunt at night when needed. Servals often share their savanna habitat with caracals and may compete with them for prey. Leopards, wild dogs, and hyenas are serval predators. If needed, a serval can climb a tree to escape.
A hungry cat waits in the tall grass at dawn or dusk, using its huge ears to listen for approaching prey before pouncing on its meal. Instead of chasing down a target like a cheetah would, the serval takes a giant leap up into the air and then forces its body weight down upon the victim, trapping it beneath the front paws until the cat can deliver a deadly bite to the neck.
This method is efficient and quick. The serval has a varied diet, eating birds, reptiles, frogs, crabs, and large insects. Where did felines originate? Felines can be traced back to 37 million years ago and are native to almost every region except for Australia and Antarctica. Smaller cats specifically can be traced back to western Eurasia about 10 million years ago. The domestic cat originated in ancient Egypt and Near East and was domesticated about 10, years ago.
Which felines live in groups? Lions are the only felines that truly live in groups called prides. In prides all the females are related and live with the pride for life.
A pride typically consists of 5 or 6 female lions, their cubs, and 1 or 2 male lions that mate with the female lions. Cheetah males may gather in bachelor groups temporarily. What is the biggest feline species? The biggest feline species is the liger, the hybrid of the lion and tiger that was developed by breeding a male lion and a female tiger. The liger weights about lbs kg and can reach a length of 11 to 12 feet 3. Tail Length:. Scientific Name:. Links Wikipedia - Serval.
Related Collections Big Cats. Felidae Felines. Grassland Animals. It is not necessarily now threatened with extinction, however, it may come to that unless trade is closely controlled.
Servals are found in well-watered savannah long-grass environments and are associated with reed beds. They occupy a variety of habitats all associated with water sources, they range up into alpine grasslands and can penetrate deep dense forests along waterways and through grassy patches.
They will make use of arid areas in extreme instances and have occasionally done so in parts of south-western Africa. As part of its adaptations for hunting in the savannas, the Serval boasts long legs the longest of all cats, relative to body size and large ears. The long legs and neck allow the Serval to see over tall grasses, while its ears are used to detect rodents, even those burrowing underground.
While hunting, the Serval will pause for up to 15 minutes at a time to listen with eyes closed. The Serval may also dig into burrows and fish the unlucky inhabitants out. Servals walk slowly through tall grass and listen for movement, if it is windy they wait. They leap high with all four feet off the ground. Their prey is stunned or killed as the cat hits them with its forefeet. If the serval misses it makes a series of swift, successive stiff-legged jumps in attempt to remedy the situation.
Servals also use a high bouncing pounce to flush animals from cover, galloping zig-zag fashion through the grass with high leaps.
Female servals hold exclusive territories from about two to nine kilometres squared. Male ranges are usually twice the size and will overlap two or more female territories. Boundaries are marked with frequent scent and scrape marks. Male servals have been observed to display very ritualistic aggressive behaviour.
They sit and face one another as one individual puts his front paw on the others chest. The second animal bobs his head and may bite the upraised paw. As are hyaenas and wild dogs. Much like leopards and cheetahs, most servals have yellow-brown fur with black markings. Servals rock a mixture of both spots and stripes , although the exact pattern may vary from one individual to the next.
On the back of each ear, there's a white dot surrounded by black fur. Between mating seasons, servals mostly keep to themselves. Fathers play no role in rearing kittens; the little dearies will spend as long as a full year trailing their mothers.
Adults live and hunt within "home ranges" covering 4 to 12 square miles 10 to 31 square kilometers. To communicate with other cats, servals rub against — or urinate on — landmarks like shrubs and grass clumps.
At the species level, Leptailurus serval isn't deemed endangered or even threatened. However, it's now part of a controversial practice within the exotic pet trade.
Servals and domestic housecats can successfully interbreed. Enter the Savannah cat , an expensive hybrid between the two that's been around for over 30 years. Savannahs aren't like other pet cats; they can weigh a formidable 25 pounds 11 kilograms and jump more than 8 feet 2.
Prone to mischief, the energetic cats can wreak havoc on all kinds of household items if left unsupervised. Due to their wild ancestry, some places — such as Australia — have banned Savannahs outright. Depending on where you live , Savannahs of some or all generations might be illegal to own. From time to time, someone photographs an all-black serval. Such animals exhibit melanism, a genetic mutation which darkens the color of their fur.
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