Saturday, March 19, 2011

Serval


True Wild Life | Serval | The serval is a medium-sized cat that is found in parts of central and southern Africa. The average serval tends to be around 80cm in length but it is not uncommon for some adult servals to grow to over a meter in length. The serval has a spotted pelt like a cheetah and the serval also benefits from having astonishingly good fan-like ears which enables it to hear enemies and prey. The satellite dish ears also allow the serval to sense vibrations.


The serval has been extensively hunted across Africa for its fur meaning that some serval populations have become extinct. Today the serval is rarely found north of the African Sahara Desert and the serval is extinct from the southern Cape of Africa but the serval is still common is western and eastern parts of central Africa.


The serval hunts hares, birds, reptiles, frogs, fish and larger species of insects but the serval has also been known to hunt larger animals such as antelope, although this is uncommon for a servals normal diet. The serval eats fast to avoid losing its meal to larger predators. Servals have incredible leaping ability and can grab birds out of the air.


There are thought to be around 10 different subspecies of serval still found in the African wild, with there also having been sightings of albino (white) and melanistic (black) servals. Of the two, blacks are more common. The serval is thought to be most closely related to the caracal and the African Golden Cat that are found in similar territories in Africa to the serval.


The gestation period for a serval is a little less than 3 months after which time, 2 or 3 serval kittens are born although servals have been known to have as many as 5 kittens in one litter. The tiny serval kittens are born blind and their eyes are usually fully in open within 2 weeks. The serval kittens remain with their mother until they are about a year old and are big enough and strong enough to look after themselves in the African wild.

No comments:

Labels

Albatross Alligator Amphibian Angelfish Ant Anteater Antelope Ape Armadillo Aves Avocet Axolotl Baboon Badger Bandicoot Barb Barracuda Bat Bear Beaver Bee Beetle Binturong Bird Birds Of Paradise Bison Boar Bongo Bonobo Booby Budgerigar Buffalo Butterfly Butterfly Fish Caiman Camel Capybara Caracal Carnivore Cassowary Cat Caterpillar Catfish Cattle Centipede Chameleon Chamois Cheetah Chicken Chimpanzee Chinchilla Cichlid Civet Clouded Leopard Clown Fish Coati Cockroach Collared Peccary Common Buzzard Coral Cougar Cow Coyote Crab Crane Critically Endangered Crocodile Crustacean Cuscus Damselfly Deer Dhole Discus Dodo Dog Dolphin Donkey Dormouse Dragon Dragonfly Duck Dugong Eagle Echidna Eel Elephant Emu Endangered Extinct Falcon Ferret Fish Flamingo Flatfish Flounder Fly Fossa Fox Frog Gar Gazelle Gecko Gerbil Gharial Gibbon Giraffe Goat Goose Gopher Gorilla Grasshopper Grouse Guinea Fowl Guinea Pig Guppy Hamster Hare Hedgehog Herbivore Heron Hippopotamus Horse Human Hummingbird Hyena Ibis Iguana Impala Insect Invertebrate Jackal Jaguar Jellyfish Kangaroo Kingfisher Kiwi Koala Kudu Ladybird Ladybug Larvae Least Concern Lemming Lemur Leopard Lion Lionfish Lizard Llama Lobster Lynx Macaque Mammal Mammoth Manatee Mandrill Manta Ray Marsupial Mayfly Meerkat Millipede Mole Mollusca Molly Mongoose Monkey Moorhen Moose Moth Mouse Mule Near Threatened Newt Nightingale Numbat Octopus Okapi Olm Omnivore Opossum Orang Utan Oriole Ostrich Otter Owl Oyster Pademelon Panda Panther Parrot Peacock Pelican Penguin Phanter Pheasant Pig Pika Pike Piranha Platypus Pond Skater Possum Prawn Primate Puffer Fish Puffin Puma Quail Quoll Rabbit Raccoon Raccoon Dog Rare Rat Reindeer Reptile Rhinoceros Robin Rodent Salamander Scorpion Scorpion Fish Sea Dragon Sea Lion Sea Slug Sea Squirt Sea Urchin Seahorse Seal Serval Shark Sheep Shrew Shrimp Skunk Sloth Snail Snake Spider Sponge Squid Squirrel Starfish Stoat Swan Tamarin Tapir Tarantula Threatened Tiger Toad Tortoise Toucan Turkey Turtle Vulnerable Vulture Walrus Weasel Whale Wildebeest Wolf Woodlouse Woodpecker Worm Zebra