serval

The name "serval" is derived from (lobo-) cerval, i.e. Portuguese for lynx, used by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1765 for a spotted cat that was kept at the time in the Royal Menagerie in Versailles;{{cite book |author=Buffon, G.-L. L. |year=1765 |title=Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi |volume=Tome 13 |publisher=Imprimerie Royale |location=Paris |pages=233–235 |chapter=Le Serval |chapter-url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k97502k/f291.image}} lobo-cerval is derived from Latin lupus cervarius, literally and respectively "wolf" and "of or pertaining to deer".{{OEtymD|serval}}{{L&S|lupus1|lupus}}, {{L&S|cervarius|ref}}

The name Leptailurus derives from the Greek {{lang|grc|λεπτός}} leptós meaning "fine, delicate", and {{lang|grc|αἴλουρος}} aílouros meaning "cat".{{LSJ|lepto/s|λεπτός}}, {{LSJ|ai)/louros|αἴλουρος|ref}}.

Felis serval was first described by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776.{{cite book |author=Schreber, J. C. D. |year=1778 |title=Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur, mit Beschreibungen |location=Erlangen |publisher=Wolfgang Walther |chapter=Der Serval |page=407 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/SaYugthiereAbbiIIISchr#page/406/mode/2up}} In the 19th and 20th centuries, the following serval zoological specimens were described:

• Felis constantina proposed by Georg Forster in 1780 was a specimen from the vicinity of Constantine, Algeria.{{cite book |last1=Forster |first1=G. R. |year=1780 |title=Herrn von Büffons Naturgeschichte der vierfüssigen Thiere. Mit Vermehrungen, aus dem Französischen übersetzt. Sechster Band |trans-title=Mr. von Büffon‘s Natural History of Quadrupeds. With additions, translated from French. Volume 6 |location=Berlin |publisher=Joachim Pauli |chapter=LIII. Der Karakal |pages=299–319 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qohRAAAAYAAJ&pg=SL26-PA13}}
• Felis servalina proposed by William Ogilby in 1839 was based on one serval skin from Sierra Leone with freckle-sized spots.{{cite journal |author=Ogilby W. |date=1839 |title=Felis servalina |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |volume=7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofgen36zool/page/94 94] |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofgen36zool}}
• Felis brachyura proposed by Johann Andreas Wagner in 1841 was also a serval skin from Sierra Leone.{{cite book |author=Wagner, J. A. |year=1841 |title=Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen von Dr Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber |volume=Supplementband 2: Die Raubthiere |location=Erlangen |publisher=Expedition des Schreber'schen Säugthier- und des Esper'schen Schmetterlingswerkes |page=547 |chapter=F. servalina Ogilb. |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/diesugthierein21841schr/page/547}}
• Felis (Serval) togoensis proposed by Paul Matschie in 1893 were two skins and three skulls from Togo.{{cite journal |author=Matschie, P. |year=1893 |title=Neue afrikanische Säugethiere |journal=Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin |issue=4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sitzungsberichte1893gese/page/107 107]–114 |url=https://archive.org/details/sitzungsberichte1893gese|doi=10.5962/bhl.part.9924 |doi-access=free }}
• Felis servalina pantasticta and F. s. liposticta proposed by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1907 were based on one serval from Entebbe in Uganda with a yellowish fur, and one serval skin from Mombasa in Kenya with dusky spots on its belly.{{cite journal |author=Pocock, R. I. |date=1907 |title=Notes upon some African species of the genus Felis, based upon specimens recently exhibited in the Society's gardens |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |volume=77 |issue=3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofzoo19074471121zool/page/656 656]–677 |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofzoo19074471121zool|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1907.tb06950.x }}
• Felis capensis phillipsi proposed by Glover Morrill Allen in 1914 was a skin and a skeleton of an adult male serval from El Garef at the Blue Nile in Sudan.{{cite journal |author=Allen, G. M. |date=1914 |title=Mammals from the Blue Nile valley |journal=Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College |volume=58 |issue=6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bulletinofmuseum58harv/page/n406 305]–357 |url=https://archive.org/details/bulletinofmuseum58harv}}

The generic name Leptailurus was proposed by Nikolai Severtzov in 1858.{{cite journal |author=Severtzov, N. |year=1858 |title=Notice sur la classification multisériale des carnivores, spécialement des Félidés, et les études de zoologie générale qui s'y rattachent |journal=Revue et Magasin de Zoologie, Pure et Appliquée (2) |volume=10 |pages=3–8; 145–150; 193–196; 241–246; 385–393 |url=https://archive.org/stream/revueetmagasinde10soci#page/388/mode/2up}} The serval is the sole member of this genus.{{MSW3 Carnivora |id=14000132 |page=540 |heading=Species Leptailurus serval}}

In 1944, Pocock recognised three serval races in North Africa.{{cite journal|last1=Pocock|first1=R. I. |title=Three races, one new, of the serval (Leptailurus) from North Africa |journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History |series=Series 11 |date=1944 |volume=11 |issue=82 |pages=690–698 |doi=10.1080/00222934408527466}}

Three subspecies are recognised as valid since 2017:{{cite journal |last1=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Breitenmoser-Würsten, C. |author3=Eizirik, E. |author4=Gentry, A. |author5=Werdelin, L. |author6=Wilting, A. |author7=Yamaguchi, N. |author8=Abramov, A. V. |author9=Christiansen, P. |author10=Driscoll, C. |author11=Duckworth, J. W. |author12=Johnson, W. |author13=Luo, S.-J. |author14=Meijaard, E. |author15=O’Donoghue, P. |author16=Sanderson, J. |author17=Seymour, K. |author18=Bruford, M. |author19=Groves, C. |author20=Hoffmann, M. |author21=Nowell, K. |author22=Timmons, Z. |author23=Tobe, S. |year=2017 |title=A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 11 |pages=58–60 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y}}

• L. s. serval, the nominate subspecies, in Southern Africa
• L. s. constantina in Central and West Africa
• L. s. lipostictus in East Africa

The phylogenetic relationships of the serval have remained in dispute; in 1997, palaeontologists M. C. McKenna and S. K. Bell classified Leptailurus as a subgenus of Felis, while others like O. R. P. Bininda-Edmonds (of the Technical University of Munich) have grouped it with Felis, Lynx and Caracal. Studies in the 2000s and the 2010s show that the serval, along with the caracal and the African golden cat, forms one of the eight lineages of Felidae. According to a 2006 genetic study, the Caracal lineage came into existence 8.5 million years ago, and the ancestor of this lineage arrived in Africa 8.5–5.6 mya.{{cite book |last1=Werdelin|first1=L.|last2=Yamaguchi|first2=N.|last3=Johnson|first3=W. E.|last4=O'Brien|first4=S. J. |contribution=Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae) |date=2010 |pages=59–82 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142 |editor1-last=Macdonald |editor1-first=D. W. |editor2-last=Loveridge |editor2-first=A. J. |title=Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids |publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0-19-923445-5 |edition=Reprinted}}

The phylogenetic relationships of the serval are as follows:

{{clade |style=font-size:90%;line-height:75%;

|label1=

|1={{clade

|1={{clade

|label1=Pardofelis

|1=Marbled cat (P. marmorata)

|label2=Catopuma

|2={{clade

|1=Bay cat (Catopuma badia)

|2=Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii)

}}

}}

|2=|state2=none |style2=font-size:50%;line-height:50%;

|3={{clade

|1={{clade

|label1=Caracal |sublabel1=lineage

|1={{clade

|label1=Leptailurus

|1=Serval (L. serval)

|label2=Caracal

|2={{clade

|1=Caracal (Caracal caracal)

|2=African golden cat (Caracal aurata)

}}

}}

|2={{clade

|1=Leopardus

|1x={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Ocelot (L. pardalis)

|2=Margay (L. wiedii)

}}

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Andean mountain cat (L. jacobita)

|2=Colocolo (L. colocolo)

}}

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Geoffroy's cat (L. geoffroyi)

|2=Kodkod (L. guigna)

}}

|2=Oncilla (L. tigrinus)

}}

}}

}}

|2={{clade

|1=Lynx

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Acinonyx

|2=Puma

}}

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Otocolobus

|2=Prionailurus

}}

|2=Felis

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}

{{Main|Savannah cat}}

In April 1986, the first savannah cat, a hybrid between a male serval and a female domestic cat, was born; it was larger than a typical domestic kitten and resembled its father in its coat pattern. It appeared to have inherited a few domestic cat traits, such as tameness, from its mother. This cat breed may have a dog-like habit of following its owner about, is adept at jumping and leaping, and can be a good swimmer. Over the years it has gained popularity as a pet.{{cite journal |title=(Untitled notice) |first=Suzi |last=Wood |date=November 1986 |journal=LIOC Endangered Species Conservation Federation Newsletter |publisher=Long Island Ocelot Club |volume=30 |issue=6 |page=15 |url=https://www.felineconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/30-6.pdf#page=15 |access-date=17 January 2023 |archive-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116122444/https://www.felineconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/30-6.pdf#page=15 |url-status=live }}

File:Serval at Auckland Zoo - Flickr - 111 Emergency.jpg]]

File:Serval imported from iNaturalist photo 27691409 on 6 December 2024.jpg serval, in Kenya]]

File:WhiteServalPharaoh.jpg serval at Big Cat Rescue]]

The serval is a slender, medium-sized cat; it stands {{cvt|54|to(-)|62|cm}} at the shoulder and weighs {{cvt|8|to(-)|18|kg}}, but females tend to be lighter. The head-and-body length is typically between {{cvt|67|and(-)|100|cm}}.{{cite book|last1=Estes|first1=R. D. |title=The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates |date=2004 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, US|isbn=978-0-520-08085-0 |pages=361–363 |edition=Forth |chapter=Serval Felis serval |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858/page/361}} Males tend to be sturdier than females.{{cite book |editor1=Kingdon, J. |editor1-link=Jonathan Kingdon |editor2=Happold, D. |editor3=Butynski, T. |editor4=Hoffmann, M. |editor5=Happold, M. |editor6=Kalina, J. |title=Mammals of Africa |year=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London, UK|isbn=978-1-4081-8996-2 |pages=180–184 |last1=Hunter, L. |last2=Bowland, J. |chapter=Leptailurus serval Serval |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B_07noCPc4kC&pg=RA4-PA181}} Prominent characteristics include the small head, large ears, spotted and striped coat, long legs and a black-tipped tail that is around {{cvt|30|cm}} long.{{cite book |last1=Liebenberg|first1=L.|title=A Field Guide to the Animal Tracks of Southern Africa |date=1990 |publisher=David Philip Publishers |location=Cape Town, South Africa |isbn=978-0-86486-132-0 |page=257 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5570017}}{{cite book |last1=Schütze |first1=H. |title=Field Guide to the Mammals of the Kruger National Park |date=2002 |publisher=Struik Publishers |location=Cape Town, South Africa |isbn=978-1-86872-594-6 |pages=98–99 |url={{Google Books |id=uA3KTUA8kO8C|page=98 |plainurl=yes}} }}{{Dead link |date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} The serval has the longest legs of any cat relative to its body size, largely due to the greatly elongated metatarsal bones in the feet.{{cite book |last1=Sunquist |first1=M. |last2=Sunquist |first2=F. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |title=Wild Cats of the World |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago, US |pages=142–151 |isbn=978-0-226-77999-7 |chapter=Serval Leptailurus serval (Schrever, 1776) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hFbJWMh9-OAC&pg=PA143}}{{cite book|last1=Hunter |first1=L. |title=Wild Cats of the World |date=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London, UK |isbn=978-1-4729-2285-4 |page=75}} The toes are elongated as well, and unusually mobile.

The coat is basically golden-yellow to buff and extensively marked with black spots and stripes. The spots show great variation in size. Facial features include the whitish chin, spots, and streaks on the cheeks and the forehead, brownish or greenish eyes, white whiskers on the snout and near the ears, which are black on the back with a white horizontal band in the middle; three to four black stripes run from the back of the head onto the shoulders and then break into rows of spots. The white underbelly has dense and fluffy basal fur, and the soft guard hairs (the layer of fur protecting the basal fur) are {{cvt|5|-|10|cm}} long. Guard hairs are up to {{cvt|3|cm}} long on the neck, back and flanks, and are merely {{cvt|1|cm}} long on the face. The serval has a good sense of smell, hearing and vision.

The serval is similar to the sympatric caracal, but has a narrower spoor, a rounder skull, and lacks its prominent ear tufts. The closely set ears can rotate up to 180 degrees independently of each other and help in locating prey efficiently.{{cite book|last1=Hunter |first1=L. |last2=Hinde |first2=G. |title=Cats of Africa: Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation |year=2005 |publisher=Struik Publishers |location=Cape Town, South Africa |isbn=978-1-77007-063-9 |pages=76; 158}}

Both leucistic and melanistic servals have been observed in captivity. In addition, the melanistic variant has been sighted in the wild, with most melanistic servals having been observed in Kenya.{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Exclusive: Rare Black Wildcat Caught on Film in Africa |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/black-serval-kenya-melanism-cats |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228005227/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/black-serval-kenya-melanism-cats |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 February 2021 |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=Animals}}

In North Africa, the serval is known only from Morocco and has been reintroduced in Tunisia, but is feared to be extinct in Algeria. It inhabits semi-arid areas and cork oak forests close to the Mediterranean Sea, but avoids rainforests and arid areas. It occurs in the Sahel, and is widespread in Southern Africa. It inhabits grasslands, moorlands, and bamboo thickets at high altitudes up to {{cvt|3800|m}} on Mount Kilimanjaro. It prefers areas close to water bodies such as wetland and savanna, which provide cover such as reeds and tall grasses. In the East Sudanian Savanna, it was recorded in the transboundary Dinder–Alatash protected area complex during surveys between 2015 and 2018.{{cite journal |author1=Bauer, H. |author2=Mohammed, A. A. |author3=El Faki, A. |author4=Hiwytalla, K. O. |author5=Bedin, E. |author6=Rskay, G. |author7=Sitotaw, E. |author8=Sillero-Zubiri, C. |name-list-style=amp |year=2018|title=Antelopes of the Dinder-Alatash transboundary Protected Area, Sudan and Ethiopia |journal=Gnusletter |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=26–30 |url=https://www.marwell.org.uk/media/other/GNUSLETTER_Vol_35_12018.pdf#page=26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703060238/https://www.marwell.org.uk/media/other/GNUSLETTER_Vol_35_12018.pdf|archive-date=3 July 2021}}

In Zambia's Luambe National Park, the population density was recorded as {{cvt|0.1|/km2|/sqmi|abbr=off}} in 2011.{{cite thesis |last1=Thiel |first1=C.|title=Ecology and population status of the serval Leptailurus serval (Schreber, 1776) in Zambia |publisher=University of Bonn |date=2011 |pages=1–265 |url=http://hss.ulb.uni-bonn.de/2011/2586/2586a.pdf}}

In South Africa, the serval was recorded in Free State, eastern Northern Cape, and southern North West.{{cite journal |last1=Herrmann |first1=E.|last2=Kamler|first2=J. F. |last3=Avenant|first3=N. L. |name-list-style=amp |title=New records of servals Leptailurus serval in central South Africa |journal=South African Journal of Wildlife Research |date=2008 |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=185–188 |doi=10.3957/0379-4369-38.2.185 |s2cid=131285183}}

In Namibia, it is present in Khaudum and Mudumu National Parks.{{cite journal |last1=Edwards |first1=S.|last2=Portas |first2=R. |last3=Hanssen |first3=L. |last4=Beytel |first4=P. |last5=Melzheimer|first5=J. |last6=Stratford |first6=K. |name-list-style=amp |title=The spotted ghost: Density and distribution of serval Leptailurus serval in Namibia |journal=African Journal of Ecology |date=2018 |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=831–840 |doi=10.1111/aje.12540 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018AfJEc..56..831E}}

File:Serval from back.jpg

The serval is active in the day as well as at night; activity might peak in early morning, around twilight, and at midnight. Servals might be active for a longer time on cool or rainy days. During the hot midday, they rest or groom themselves in the shade of bushes and grasses. Servals remain cautious of their vicinity, though they may be less alert when no large carnivores or prey animals are around. Servals walk as much as {{cvt|2|to|4|km}} every night. Servals will often use special trails to reach certain hunting areas. A solitary animal, there is little social interaction among servals except in the mating season, when pairs of opposite sexes may stay together. The only long-lasting bond appears to be of the mother and her cubs, which leave their mother only when they are a year old.

Both males and females establish home ranges, and are most active only in certain regions ('core areas') within them. The area of these ranges can vary from {{cvt|10|to|32|sqkm}}; prey density, availability of cover and human interference could be significant factors in determining their size.{{cite journal|last1=Geertsema|first1=A. A.|title=Aspects of the ecology of the serval Leptailurus serval in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania |journal=Netherlands Journal of Zoology |date=1984 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=527–610 |doi=10.1163/002829685X00217 |s2cid=83574432}} Home ranges might overlap extensively, but occupants show minimal interaction. Aggressive encounters are rare, as servals appear to mutually avoid one another rather than fight and defend their ranges. On occasions where two adult servals meet in conflict over territory, a ritualistic display may ensue, in which one will place a paw on the other's chest while observing their rival closely; this interaction rarely escalates into a fight.{{Cite web |title=Serval |url=https://www.theanimalfacts.com/mammals/serval/ |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=The Animal Facts}}{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Serval |url=http://www.altinawildlife.com/serval/ |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=Altina Wildlife Park}}

Agonistic behavior involves vertical movement of the head (contrary to the horizontal movement observed in other cats), raising the hair and the tail, displaying the teeth and the white band on the ears, and yowling. Individuals mark their ranges and preferred paths by spraying urine on nearby vegetation, dropping scats along the way, and rubbing their mouths on grasses or the ground while releasing saliva. Servals tend to be sedentary, shifting only a few kilometres away even if they leave their range.

The serval is vulnerable to hyenas and African wild dogs. It will seek cover to escape its view, and, if the predator is very close, immediately flee in long leaps, changing its direction frequently and with the tail raised. The serval is an efficient, though not frequent, climber; an individual was observed to have climbed a tree to a height of more than {{cvt|9|m}} to escape dogs. Like many cats, the serval is able to purr;{{cite web |last=Eklund |first=R. |date=2004 |title=Devoted to field purrinng |url=http://purring.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727182328/http://purring.org/ |archive-date=2024-07-27 |access-date=2013-03-07 |website=Purring.org |at=4.2 Serval}} it also has a high-pitched chirp, and can hiss, cackle, growl, grunt, and meow.

File:Leptailurus serval ssp. serval.jpg

The serval is a carnivore that preys on rodents, particularly vlei rats, shrews, small birds, hares, frogs, insects, and reptiles, and also feeds on grass that can facilitate digestion or act as an emetic.{{cite web |title=Leptailurus serval (Serval) |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Leptailurus_serval |work=Animal Diversity Web}} Up to 90% of the preyed animals weigh less than {{cvt|200|g|oz}}; occasionally it also hunts larger prey such as duikers, hares, flamingoes, spoonbills, waterfowl and young antelopes. The percentage of rodents in the diet has been estimated at 80–97%.{{cite journal |author=Smithers, R. H. N. |title=Serval Felis serval Schreber, 1776|journal=South African Journal of Wildlife Research |year=1978 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=29–37}}{{cite journal|last1=Bowland|first1=J. M.|last2=Perrin|first2=M. R.|title=Diet of serval (Leptailurus serval) in a highland region of Natal|journal=South African Journal of Zoology |year=1993 |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=132–135 |doi=10.1080/02541858.1993.11448308 |doi-access=free}} Apart from vlei rats, other rodents recorded frequently in the diet include the African grass rat, African pygmy mouse and multimammate mice.

The serval locates prey by its strong sense of hearing. It remains motionless for up to 15 minutes; when prey is within range, it jumps with all four feet up to {{cvt|4|m}} in the air and attacks with its front paws. To kill small prey, it slowly stalks it, then pounces on it with the forefeet directed toward the chest, and finally lands on it with its forelegs outstretched. The prey, receiving a blow from one or both of the serval's forepaws, is incapacitated, and the serval bites it on the head or the neck and immediately swallows it. Snakes are dealt more blows and even bites, and may be consumed even as they are moving. Larger prey, such as larger birds, are killed by a sprint followed by a leap to catch them as they are trying to flee, and are eaten slowly. Servals have been observed caching large kills to be consumed later by concealing them in dead leaves and grasses. Servals typically get rid of the internal organs of rodents while eating, and pluck feathers from birds before consuming them. During a leap, a serval can reach more than {{cvt|2|m|ftin}} above the ground and cover a horizontal distance of up to {{cvt|3.6|m|ftin}}. Servals appear to be efficient hunters; a study in Ngorongoro showed that servals were successful in half of their hunting attempts, regardless of the time of hunting, and a mother serval was found to have a success rate of 62%. The number of kills in a 24-hour period averaged 15 to 16. Scavenging has been observed, but very rarely.

File:Servals Thoiry 19801.jpg

Both sexes become sexually mature when they are one to two years old. Oestrus in females lasts one to four days; it typically occurs once or twice a year, though it can occur three or four times a year if the mother loses her litters.{{cite journal|last1=Wackernagel|first1=H.|title=A note on breeding the serval cat Felis serval at Basle Zoo|journal=International Zoo Yearbook|date=1968|volume=8|issue=1|pages=46–47|doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1968.tb00433.x}} Observations of captive servals suggest that when a female enters oestrus, the rate of urine-marking increases in her as well as the males in her vicinity. Zoologist Jonathan Kingdon described the behavior of a female serval in oestrus in his 1997 book East African Mammals. He noted that she would roam restlessly, spray urine frequently holding her vibrating tail in a vertical manner, rub her head near the place she has marked, salivate continuously, give out sharp and short "miaow"s that can be heard for quite a distance, and rub her mouth and cheeks against the face of an approaching male. The time when mating takes place varies geographically; births peak in winter in Botswana, and toward the end of the dry season in the Ngorongoro Crater. A trend generally observed across the range is that births precede the breeding season of murid rodents.

Gestation lasts for two to three months, following which a litter of one to four kittens is born. Births take place in secluded areas, for example in dense vegetation or burrows abandoned by aardvarks and porcupines. Blind at birth, newborns weigh nearly {{convert|250|g|oz|0|abbr=on}} and have soft, woolly hair (greyer than in adults) and unclear markings. The eyes open after nine to thirteen days. Weaning begins a month after birth; the mother brings small kills to her kittens and calls out to them as she approaches the "den". A mother with young kittens rests for a notably lesser time and has to spend almost twice the time and energy for hunting than do other servals. If disturbed, the mother shifts her kittens one by one to a more secure place.{{cite book |year=2005 |title=The mammals of the southern African subregion |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521844185 |editor1-last=Skinner |editor1-first=J. D. |editor2-last=Chimimba |editor2-first=C. T. |edition=Third |last1=Mills |first1=M. G. L. |chapter=Genus Leptailurus Severtzov, 1858 |pages=408–412 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iqwEYkTDZf4C&pg=PA408}} Kittens eventually start accompanying their mother to hunts. At around six months, they acquire their permanent canines and begin to hunt themselves; they leave their mother at about 12 months of age. They may reach sexual maturity from 12 to 25 months of age. Life expectancy is about 10 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity.{{cite journal |last=Tonkin |first=B. A. |year=1972 |title=Notes on longevity in three species of felids |journal=International Zoo Yearbook |volume=12 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1972.tb02319.x |pages=181–182}}

File:Serval (8373405687).jpg]]

The degradation of wetlands and grasslands is a major threat to the survival of the serval. Trade of serval skins, though on the decline, still occurs in countries such as Benin and Senegal. In West Africa, the serval has significance in traditional medicine. Pastoralists often kill servals to protect their livestock, though servals generally do not prey on livestock.

The serval is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List, and is included in CITES Appendix II. It occurs in several protected areas across its range. Hunting of servals is prohibited in Algeria, Botswana, Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tunisia, and South Africa's Cape Province; hunting regulations apply in Angola, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, and Zambia.

The association of servals with human beings dates to the time of Ancient Egypt.{{cite journal |last1=Faure|first1=E.|last2=Kitchener|first2=A. C.|title=An archaeological and historical review of the relationships between felids and people|journal=Anthrozoös |date=2009|volume=22|issue=3|pages=221–238 |doi=10.2752/175303709X457577|s2cid=84308532}} Servals are depicted as gifts or traded objects from Nubia in Egyptian art.{{cite book|last1=Engels|first1=D. W.|title=Classical Cat: The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Cat|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|location=Abingdon, UK|isbn=978-1-134-69293-4|url={{Google Books|id=NwkeCwAAQBAJ|page=PT80|plainurl=yes}}}}

Servals are occasionally kept as pets, although their wild nature means that ownership of servals is regulated in some countries.{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/bigcats/canada.php|title=Regulations Concerning the Private Possession of Big Cats |publisher=Library of Congress|date=2013 |access-date=6 April 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://spca.bc.ca/ways-to-help/take-action/exotic-pets/exotic-animal-laws-restrictions/|title=Exotic pet laws in B.C. |publisher=The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals |access-date=6 April 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/11/05/exotic-cat-fad-concerning-to-many-pet-experts/|title=Wild Cat Hybrid Fad in California Concerning To Pet Experts|date=2013|access-date=6 April 2018}} Servals can also be crossed with domestic cats to produce the savannah cat breed.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/05/06/living-room-leopards |title=Living-Room Leopards |first=Ariel |last=Levy |date=29 April 2013 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=6 April 2018 |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305063002/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/05/06/living-room-leopards |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.tica.org/breeds/browse-all-breeds?view=article&id=870:savannah-breed&catid=79 |title=Savannah Breed |date=13 August 2018 |work=TICA.org |publisher=The International Cat Association |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116125448/https://www.tica.org/breeds/browse-all-breeds?view=article&id=870:savannah-breed&catid=79 |url-status=live }}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Leptailurus serval}}

{{Wiktionary|serval}}

• {{cite web |title=Serval |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |url=http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=109}}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/serval|title=Serval|access-date=10 March 2021|publisher=African Wildlife Foundation}}

{{Carnivora|Fe.}}

{{Feliformia|Fel.|state=collapsed}}

{{Taxonbar|from1=Q10859013|from2=Q42699|from3=Q109647291}}

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Category:Leptailurus

Category:Felids of Africa

Category:Mammals of Sub-Saharan Africa

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Category:Taxa named by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber