Serval

Introduction: This beautiful member of the cat family is similar in size to a medium dog. It inhabits thick bush and tall grass around streams, for both camouflage, safety and refreshment purposes. Prominent features include long legs and neck, small head, large upright ears and a relatively short tail. Its beautiful appearance belies its adept and cunning hunting skills. The photographic opportunity of a lifetime awaits if you can capture an airborn serval (Felis serval) catching birds in mid-flight. They are mainly nocturnal creatures, sometimes spotted in the early morning or late afternoon.

Distribution: Servals are common, but confined to the wetter, north-eastern areas of Namibia. They do not occur in forest, desert or semi-desert.

Colouring: Servals have a dirty yellow coat, dotted with large black spots, which form lines along the length of the body.

Diet: Servals favour ground birds, hares, frogs, fish and rodents.

Breeding: Litters are normally born towards the end of the winter (May to September) and litter down in either a hole or on the surface of the ground in either thick clumps of high grass in open grassland, in underbush or in the stands of mealies.

Size: Males stand some 60cm high at the shoulder and are 110cm in length including the tail. They normally weigh around 11kg, but can be up to 18kg. The female of the species is proportionally smaller all round.