Serval cat guide: size, diet, lifespan - and where they live

Serval cat guide: size, diet, lifespan - and where they live

Meet the beautiful serval cat, a leggy wild cat that roams sub-Saharan Africa

Published: July 31, 2023 at 2:29 pm

Ho big are serval cats?

Counting the head and body serval cats are between 67cm-100cm long, with the tail adding between 24–35cm on. Males are the heaviest weighing between 10–18kg, while females weigh between 6–13kg.

What do serval cats look like?

Serval cats are a rangy, medium-sized cat with extremely long legs, large ears and a tawny coat with variable black spots. In some individuals the spots merge to form stripes on the neck and back; fine-freckled variants also occur, for example in East Africa.

What do serval cats eat?

Mostly rodents such as swamp (vlei) rats; also birds, reptiles and amphibians. Occasionally wades into water to hunt flamingos and fish.

How do serval cats reproduce?

serval cats are largely solitary: male and female associate for just a few days to mate. Female gives birth to up to four kittens after a gestation of 67–77 days, and raises them on her own. Male offspring are driven away when they can hunt, usually about one year old; females leave when sexually mature, about a year later.

How long do serval cats live for?

Their lifespan is up to 20 years

Where do serval cats live?

Beautiful serval cat stretching out to gracefully leap over a stream in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater.
Beautiful serval cat stretching out to gracefully leap over a stream in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater.

The serval is found in much of sub-Saharan Africa, and there are unconfirmed reports of isolated populations in Morocco and Algeri. Their favourite habitat are marshes and reedbeds, and to a lesser extent grassland; also frequents woodland edge. Absent from desert and forest.

Images © Getty Images

Gary Brookshaw / Getty Images

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