Serval (redirected from Leptailurus serval)

serval, medium-sized African cat, Felis serval, found S of the Sahara in scrub country close to water. The serval is lightly built with very long legs; it has a small head with large eyes and ears, set on a long neck. Its coat is yellow-orange with black spots. The head and body are about 3 ft (91 cm) long and the ringed tail about 12 in. (30 cm) long. The serval is among the swiftest and most agile of cats and catches birds flying as much as 6 ft (1.8 m) from the ground. It also hunts insects, lizards, rodents, hares, and small antelopes. It is classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Felidae.

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serval

Serval (Felis serval)

(credit: Christina Loke—Photo Researchers)

Long-limbed cat (Felis serval) of sub-Saharan Africa found in grass- and bush-covered country near water. It has a long neck and large, cupped ears. It is 32–40 in. (80–100 cm) long, has an 8–12-in. (20–30-cm) tail, stands about 20 in. (50 cm), and may weigh over 30 lbs (15 kg). Its long coat is yellowish to reddish brown above and whitish below, with black spots or stripes; there are some all-black servals in Kenya.

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serval

a slender feline mammal, Felis serval, of the African bush, having an orange-brown coat with black spots, large ears, and long legs

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Serval 

(Felis serval), a predatory mammal of the family Feli-dae. The body length reaches 1 m, the tail length 30 cm, and the height at the shoulders 50 cm. The animals weigh up to 16 kg. The serval is a long-legged, large-eared cat of slender build. The coloration is yellowish gray with brown or black spots and stripes. The serval is widely distributed in Africa, where it lives mainly on grassy and shrubby plains. It hunts principally at night for birds, rodents, hares, and young antelope. In the southern part of its range the cat gives birth to one to four young at winter’s end; in the tropics litters are produced at various times of the year. The serval is commercially valued for its skin, which is used in the manufacture of fur articles. The species is decreasing sharply in number.