The serval's proportions are the adaptation. It has the largest ears relative to body size of any cat and unusually long legs, particularly the metatarsals, which lift the head above grass and give the pounce its arc. The ears are used independently, and the cat will hold a listening posture for minutes before committing.
The strike is a high, near-vertical leap that lands both forefeet on the prey, often through a mat of vegetation. Rodents dominate the diet, with birds, frogs and insects making up the remainder. Field observation has recorded kill success on a substantial share of attempts, well above the roughly one-in-five typical of larger cats, a figure that reflects small, abundant prey rather than any superiority of technique.
Servals are increasingly encountered outside Africa as a domestic hybrid ancestor: crossing a serval with a domestic cat produces the Savannah breed. That trade is a welfare and regulatory issue in several jurisdictions and should not be read as evidence that servals are suitable pets.