African Serval Cat Information and Facts ~ Cats for Africa

Serval Facts

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Leptailurus serval

COMMON NAMES

African Serval, Serval, Serval Cat

NAME ORIGIN

The name Serval is derived from a Portuguese word meaning "deerlike wolf" (cervus = deer). In Africa it is commonly referred to as a 'bush cat', and in Afrikaans (South Africa) it is known as a "tierboskat" which means 'tiger bush cat'.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Least Concern (Global). Note that within each country the conservation status can differ to the global status.

IDENTIFICATION

Serval have a combination of spots and stripes on their coats, and they have very large rounded ears for picking up the sounds of prey in long grasses.

DISTRIBUTION

Serval only occur in Africa, inhabiting the wetter areas and are absent from the deserts in the north and south west.

UNIQUE BEHAVIOR

The Serval has a very characteristic pouncing technique when hunting rodents. It leaps high into the air and then lands on the prey with its forepaws, stunning the prey in the process (see video).

LIFE CYCLE

Serval cats produce litters all through the year with births peaking in the wet season. Gestation is between 67 to 75 days and on average two to three kittens are born on in a litter.

HISTORY

The Serval was the symbol of the Italian Tomasi family, princes of the island of Lampedusa. Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, wrote the famous Italian novel 'IlGattopardo'. Despite being known as 'The Leopard' in English, the Italian title actually refers to a Serval. The Serval's North African range is near Lampedusa.