Animal profile

Serval

Leptailurus serval

MammaliaWetland margins, tall grassland, reedbeds and moist savannahLeast Concern

Field profile

The serval is a long-legged, large-eared spotted cat of tall grass and wetland edges. Relative to body size it has the longest legs and largest ears of any cat. It hunts mainly rodents, locating them by sound in vegetation too dense to see through.

Published field notes

2023-04-24

Serval

The serval hunts rodents by ear alone

In grass too tall to see through, a serval stands still with its outsized ears rotating, locates a rodent by sound, and pounces onto a spot it has never seen. Its hunting success rate is among the highest recorded for any cat.

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