(Leptailurus serval)
The serval is a medium-sized African feline, slender, with long legs, a short tail, a small head, and large ears. Its long limbs allow it to detect prey in the tall grasslands where it usually lives. Its coat is yellowish with black spots, although in mountainous and forested areas melanistic dark-colored individuals are common.
Habitat of the Serval
It is distributed across much of the African continent, inhabiting savannas, scrublands, forests, and semi-deserts. It is absent from desert regions and much of South Africa, where the local subspecies became extinct due to hunting. In the Maghreb, the serval is critically endangered, with remnant populations in Algeria and reintroductions in Tunisia.
Diet and behavior
The serval is a predator that hunts rodents, birds, lizards, and hares, although it can also take down small antelopes. It is an excellent runner and an occasional climber. Its main threats are leopards and, above all, human hunting for its valuable pelt.
Reproduction of the Serval
Females raise their young alone in abandoned burrows, usually those of aardvarks, where they give birth to 1 to 5 cubs. Although young servals can be tamed, they are difficult to keep as pets due to their independent behavior.
