The ultimate sleek serval

The ultimate sleek serval

Servals are slim, petite cats with long legs, thin bodies, short tails, and small heads. Servals are quite elegant. Because of their giraffe-like neck and legs, they’ve acquired the nickname “giraffe cat.” Servals have a tawny coat with black lines and spots, and creamy white bellies.

They may weigh up to 18 kilos and have the largest ears of any cat. How large precisely are those ears? If our ears were proportionate to our skulls like servals’, they would be the size of dinner plates.

Servals are found in the grasslands of East and Southern Africa, along highly forested streams and rivers. Unlike many other cats, these small felines like climbing, leaping, and playing in the water.

Because they are crepuscular, they hunt at dawn and twilight to avoid the heat of the day. Servals and caracals frequently share the same savannah habitat and may compete for prey.

Servals are among the most skilled hunters among felines. Servals succeed in around half of their attempts to kill prey, but other wild cats only succeed in one out of every five or six tries.

The serval’s primary hunting strategy is “wait and see.” A hungry cat waits in the thick grass at dawn or dusk, using its big ears to listen for incoming prey before pouncing on its dinner. Instead of chasing prey, the serval leaps into the air and pulls the animal beneath its front paws, trapping it until the cat can administer a deadly bite to the neck. This method is both efficient and time-saving.