Breed Information

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Leptailurus
Species: L. serval

Description

The Serval is a strong yet slender animal, with long legs and a fairly short tail. The head is small in relation to the body, and the tall, oval ears are set close together. The pattern of the fur is variable. Usually, the serval is boldly spotted black on tawny, with 2 or 4 stripes from the top of the head down the neck and back, transitioning into spots. In addition, melanism is known to exist in this species, giving a similar appearance to the black panther, although melanistic Servals, are almost exclusive to the high altitudes of the mountains in Kenya. White servals are white with silvery grey spots and have only occurred in captivity.

Weight:

Females: 20 - 35lbs. (8.7-16 kg.)
Males: 26-50 lbs. (12-26 kg.)
One of The main reasons a Servals weight can vary so much, is because captive bred Servals of North america, are starting to become smaller then there African cousins, and I believe that if you compared the vast majority of captive owned servals, to the ones that live in Africa today, there would be a pretty common weight difference, making the African Serval, much larger then the there North American counterpart, for many reasons.

Natural Home Range

Servals prefer well watered grasslands, and are confined to areas near water and with adequate shelter. They do not live in densely forested areas.
Widely distributed, they are reasonably common over all of Africa south of the Sahara except for rainforest and semi-deserts or desert areas.
There was a North African relict population in the Atlas mountains. If it is still extant it is extremely endangered - they have not been reported in the Atlas for 20 years.
The most dense serval populations occur in the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania, with 40 per 100 km2.

Behaviour

As highly specialised rodent predators, serval hunt exclusively on the ground. They walk slowly through tall grass and listen for movement, if it is windy they wait. Using their relatively tall vantage point, they rely on their ears to accurately fix the position of their potential victims. Then they pounce, 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. Nearly one in every two pounces results in food for a serval, making it one of the most effective feline hunters. For most species of cat, success once in every ten attempts is a good average.
Servals can also detect prey underground. They dig for the animals and hook them out. They have been observed to dig holes in mole rat tunnels and sit and wait. When a mole rat comes to repair the damage the serval fishes it out.
Often said to hunt in shallow water, they will stalk wading birds, catching frogs and fish. Female servals hold exclusive territories from about two to nine km2 in area. Male ranges usually twice the size, will overlap two or more female territories. Boundaries are delineated with frequent scent and scrape marks.
Males have been observed to display very ritualistic aggression behaviour. They sit and face one another as one individual puts his front paw on the other’s chest. The second animal bobs his head and may bite the upraised paw. This exchange can escalate into a full fight, but more often remains as a protracted stare-off.
Adult males have been observed to display some social behaviour, by resting together during the day. Servals in the Ngorongoro are mainly nocturnal, this reflects the activity peaks of their main prey species: vlei rats and frogs. In the Serengeti they tend to be more diurnal as the basic prey are Nile rats, which are active in the day, this also shows how well Servals can adapt to there surrounding environment.

Life expectancy

12–16 years in the wild
20–25 years in captivity

Diet

Servals are rodent specialists, 89% of their kills have been estimated as mammalian. More than 90% of the serval’s prey weighs less than 200 grammes, less than two percent of the average body weight of a female. Servals prey on hares, ground squirrels, hyraxes, snakes, lizards, mole rats, frogs, insects, birds (quails, flamingoes, quelea, and teal). They have been known to take domestic poultry. Larger animals such as vlei rats and even small antelopes are preferred, if they can be easily taken. The serval eats very quickly, sometimes too quickly, causing it to gag and regurgitate due to clogging in the throat. Small prey are devoured whole. With larger prey, small bones are consumed, but organs and intestines are avoided along with fur, feathers, beaks, feet or hooves. The Serval utilizes an effective plucking technique in which they repeatedly toss captured birds in the air while simultaneously thrashing their head from side-to-side, removing mouthfuls of feathers, which they discard. Servals are extremely intelligent, and demonstrate remarkable problem-solving ability, making them notorious for getting into mischief, as well as easily outwitting their prey, and eluding other predators. The serval will often play with its captured prey for several minutes, before consuming it. In most situations, servals will ferociously defend their food against attempted theft by others. Males can be more aggressive than females.

Modern molecular DNA analysis indicates servals descend from the same Felid ancestor as the lion. The serval maintains its own unique lineage, and appears to share common traits with the cheetah. DNA studies have shown the African golden cat and the caracal are closely related to the serval

Reprodruction

Female servals display very overt oestrus behaviour over four days. One to three, or even as many as five, kittens are born after a gestation period of 66 to 77 days. Weighing 260 grammes at birth, their eyes are fully open by nine days. By four weeks the kittens have their first solids and are weaned in four to seven months. Full adult dentition may be present in 190 days. The mother will give birth and rear her offspring in a den in dense vegetation or in an abandoned burrow. When the young servals are one year old they will leave their natal range.

Vocalizations

The Seval makes a distinctive sound calling out, what can only be described as a (HOW-HOW-HOW!). This sound actually sounds like the loud chirp of a large bird more than it sounds like anything we would associate with any kind of cat. They also pant much like a dog, which is very unlike most felines. Servals belong to the purring cats. A characteristic of purring is that it is carried out on both egressive and ingressive airstream. The serval also has a hiss, cackle, growl, grunt, and meow.

Responsible Serval Ownership

       When you accept the responsibility of caring for a Serval, you must realize that the fellow Animal depends on you not just for food, shelter and medical care, but also depends on you for companionship, play, and love. Each Serval has their individual personalities and quirks, so each is different. A Serval may bond with you and never bond with another person for the rest of its life.  This may make it hard for the Serval if you decide that you cannot care for it anymore, so make sure you are ready for the responsibility, Not many people want to spend decades caring for an animal that they can't have a relationship with. Bear this in mind and realize that a Serval may live up to 20 years.   The Serval will depend on you for that length of time.  Some Servals may be able to bond with a new owner but that is not guaranteed, so giving it away, should be a last option.  Even at best, bonding with a new owner takes time. If for some reason you are unable to take care of the Serval, please contact the breeder if you need help in finding a new home.   Always have a back up plan, in case something happens to you like a hospital stay or something as simple as a vacation.  Have a relative or a close friend become the serval's playmate in case you are away.