Animal facts

 

MEET OUR SERVALS
 

LARGO

KENYA

    
 

African Serval
 Scientific Name: Felis Lepatilurus

The African Serval is peculiar looking smaller cat, built to hunt in the grassy plains of Africa. They have very long tall legs, a small head with large ears, that have long ranging auditory capability. Males can weigh anywhere between 9 to 19 kilograms, females between 9 and 13 kilograms. Their coat is pale yellow with solid black spots. Melanistic or all-black servals have been reported to live in some mountainous areas. The tail of the serval is short, and has a black tip and black rings and spots. A serval’s ears are black with central white large spots. 

Its name is derived from a Portuguese word "Serval" that means "wolf deer".

In the Wild...

 

The main prey for a serval are smaller mammals, in particular rodents such as swamp rats and mice. In addition, they hunt for birds, reptiles, frogs, fish and insects depending on what is available in their natural habitat. There have been some reports of servals going after flamingos in water. Servals mainly hunt at night in tall grass and are able to hear their victims from great distances. Their long legs allow them to leap on top of their unsuspecting target. They can leap anywhere from 1 to 4 meters horizontally and up to over 1 meter high vertically to catch birds and insects in flight.

 

Biology

Servals have a gestation period between 70 and 79 days. Their litter size is between 1 and 3 cubs. The cubs become independent in about 6 to 8 months and can stay in the vicinity of their mother for a period of over one year. Cubs become sexually mature between 1 ½ and 2 years of age. The are known to live in the wild to an average age of 19 years, in captivity about 25 years of age.

 

Habitat and Distribution

The serval habitat is mainly in various regions in Africa in wet savannah tall grass areas, and along various coastal regions in Africa. Servals like water and have been found “fishing” often.

 

Threats

In North and South Africa the serval population is decreasing due to increasing urbanization in those regions. Servals however adapt very well in human agricultural environments since these areas often provide convenient prey animals such as rodents. In turn this makes the serval an inconvenience to farmers and they are often considered as vermin. Ironically, the serval may actually help the farmers by killing these same rodents that can prevent spread of animal and human diseases.

Although in most regions servals can legally be hunted there are some countries where hunting servals is prohibited. These countries are: Algeria, Botswana, Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa (Cape province only). Yet other countries have regulated hunting for servals, such countries include: Angola, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Zaïre, Zambia.

There is no protection for the serval in the following countries: Benin, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe.

 

 

MEET OUR SERVALS
LARGO

Largo formerly lived at a breeding facility for 10 years and was never handled by people, making him extremely shy and reclusive.  Upon arrival at our sanctuary, we placed him in an area that was out of sight of sanctuary visitors yet in the center of outdoor activity for our regular volunteers.  With regular attention and enrichment, Largo has become accustomed to familiar faces and regularly comes to the edge of his enclosure to greet people – and is even beginning to trust new volunteers quite readily.  It is almost time for Largo to move to a new, larger enclosure, where he may be seen by groups participating in educational tours of our facility.  Since he is now neutered, we will be able to introduce Largo to his new Serval friend Kenya, in the hope that they will be lifelong companions.

 

 

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KENYA

Kenya is an African serval – Born 10/2002 – he arrived at our facility late on the night on 5/11/05.  He had obviously been loved and cared for in someone’s house as a pet.  Unfortunately, that arrangement seldom works out for the animal.  Typically, when people so desperately want to have an exotic animal as a pet, they try it and may have the best intentions – but the harsh reality is this:  When they are babies, wild animals are incredibly adorable, but as they grow up and begin to hit maturity (as Kenya has), their wild instincts become more apparent.  They damage things inside the house and their mood swings can become extremely dangerous.  Even a minor bite or scratch can have severe legal consequences with wild animals, putting the animal’s very life at risk. As they mature, there is no mistaking the fact that these animals do not belong in close quarters with people.  Its not the animal’s fault, they were never made to be pets – the problem begins with the laws that allow breeders to sell these animals to people who love wildlife, only to realize later on that they have made a tragic mistake.  In Kenya’s case, he is still young enough to socialize with another Serval friend and they will be enjoying a spacious outdoor habitat under the shade of huge oak trees.  He will have people around to care for him and spend time with him, but will now have the opportunity to be wild and as free as we can let him be.

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