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Other Names serval, chat-tigre, lynx tacheté (French) Servalkatze (German) serval (Spanish) tierboskat (Afrikaans: South Africa) aner (Amharic: Ethiopia) amich boudrar, ouchiak zilagla (Berber: Kabylia, Algeria) njuzi (Chichewa: Malawi) onca de baga baga (Creole: Guinea-Bissau) !’hòm!a (Ju/hoan Bushman: Botswana, Namibia) gato serval, gato lagar (Portugese) muq shabeel, dumad xabashi, shabeel adari, shabeel yer (Somalia) |
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tadi (Setswana: Botswana) |
Description and Behavior
Although 17 subspecies are listed by Allen (1939), their validity is doubtful
(see Appendix I). Smithers (1978) examined specimens from one locality in southern
Africa and found external characters among them which had been used to designate six
different subspecies within the subregion. Servals from West Africa most frequently show
a pattern mutation of small speckled spots -- these so-called servalines were considered
a separate species (Felis brachyura Wagner, 1841) until Pocock (1917a)
demonstrated that the speckled form was a serval morph. Black servals have been widely
recorded (Shortridge 1934, York 1973, Guggisberg 1975). The holotype of L. serval
was taken near the Cape of Good Hope, but the serval now appears to have been extirpated
from the entire southern coastal belt of South Africa and most of Cape province (Skead
1980, Stuart 1985) -- although M. Bowland (in litt. 1993) notes an unconfirmed
report from a farmer at George, midway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.
Small mammals, especially rodents, are the serval’s main prey. Larger rodents are
preferred, particularly vlei (swamp) rats (Smithers and Wilson 1979, Geertsema 1985,
Bowland 1990), and also Nile rats (Geertsema 1976, 1985). Smaller mice are
of secondary importance (Smithers and Wilson 1979, Geertsema 1985, Bowland 1990).
Up to 12 mice were found in one serval stomach from Zimbabwe (Smithers 1978).
Birds, reptiles, fish and insects are also taken, although infrequently when rodents
are abundant (Geertsema 1985, Bowland 1990). Geertsema (1985) observed one
young male serval, on a moonlit night, rush into open water to seize one of a group of
feeding flamingos. Geertsema (1985) also found frogs to be a particularly favorite
prey item, with remains occurring in 77% of 56 scats. She saw another young male eat at
least 28 frogs in one three-hour period. Servals do not generally take larger prey as
does the caracal. Single animals have only rarely been observed to kill duikers and fawns
of the smaller antelope species (Rahm 1966, de Pienaar 1969, York 1973). The
detailed studies by Geertsema (1985: Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania) and
Bowland (1990: Natal province farmland, South Africa) did not record any instances
of servals taking mammalian prey larger than rodents.
Ecology
Geertsema’s (1985) four-year study in the Ngorongoro Crater is the most detailed
investigation to date of serval ecology. She found them to be largely crepuscular,
resting in mid-day and occasionally at night. Females with kittens increase diurnal
hunting activity. Servals on farmland in South Africa’s Natal province were predominantly
nocturnal, possibly a response to human disturbance (Bowland 1990). Through
continuous observations (when possible - although the study animals were habituated, they
were not radio-collared), Geertsema (1985) found that adult males, adult females
and sub-adults spend about 25% of each 24-hour period travelling and hunting. On average,
Ngorongoro servals killed about 16 times within this period. Independent sub-adults killed
more frequently than adults, but took smaller prey with a lower energetic return. From
nearly 2,000 observations of pounces, Geertsema (1985) found serval hunting success
to average 49%, with no significant difference between day and moonlit night. After giving
birth to kittens, one female increased her success to 62% from 48%.
Biology
Estrus (C): 4 days (n=1: Mellen 1989)
Gestation (C): 73 days (n=15; range 70-79) (Stuart and Wilson 1988)
Litter Size:
Age at Independence:
Age at Sexual Maturity:
Longevity:
Habitat and Distribution
In North Africa, relict populations may still be found in humid scrub and mixed woodlands
of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains (Lambert 1966) and northern Tunisia and Algeria
(Gouttenoire 1954, De Smet 1989). The last confirmed record from Algeria is of an
animal killed by a French hunter in 1936 in Arzew (north-west coast), said to be the last
in the area. There have been scattered reports of serval occurrence throughout northern
Algeria during the 1980s, but zoologists have not been able to confirm them (De Smet
1989, K. de Smet in litt. 1993). Surviving animals are likely to have been isolated
from sub-Saharan populations for at least 6-7,000 years (Swift 1975).
Population Status
Smithers (1978) reviewed the serval’s distribution and concluded that its range
has remained largely intact, shrinking only in the extreme north and south due to
habitat loss in the wake of increasing urbanization and changes in land use (C. Stuart
in litt. 1993). Possibly servals were never very numerous in North Africa, and water
sources in the region are likely to be focal points of human use and settlement. However,
servals are highly tolerant of agricultural development, which fosters increased rodent
densities, as long as there is sufficient water and shelter available (Bowland 1990).
Kingdon (1977) notes that the serval has adapted well to the cultivation-fallow
mosaic that is widespread over the moister regions of Africa. Degradation of forests to
savannah in West Africa probably favors the species.
Geertsema (1985) found minimum home ranges in Ngorongoro to be 11.6
km2 for one adult male and 9.5
km2 for one adult female over four years. The male’s
home range overlapped those of at least two adult females, while the ranges of three
adult females showed minimal overlap. Bowland (1990) found larger home ranges
for servals on South African ranchland: 16-20 km2 for
two adult females and 31.5 km2 for one male, monitored
for 4-5 months during the spring and summer.
Protection Status
National Legislation:
Hunting prohibited:
Hunting regulated:
No legal protection:
No information:
Principal Threats
Trade in serval pelts has been reported from many countries (Yalden et al. 1980, Sayer
and Green 1984, Myers 1986, Cunningham and Zondi 1991; L. Gadsby, F. Hurst in litt. 1991,
E. Abe in litt. 1993); they are frequently marketed as "cheetah" or "leopard". While
the scale of the harvest and its effect upon populations is difficult to judge, the pelt
trade appears to be primarily domestic (especially for ceremonial or medicinal purposes)
or tourist-oriented, rather than international commercial exports (WCMC unpubl. data;
see Table 1 in Part II Chapter 4). The serval’s localized distribution around water sources
may increase its vulnerability to hunting; it will also climb a tree when chased by hounds
(Stuart 1985).
Servals occasionally kill domestic poultry and only rarely young livestock (sheep and
goats): studies of their diet in farming areas in Zimbabwe (Smithers 1978) and
South Africa (Lawson 1987) found no evidence that predation was a problem.
Bowland (1990) pointed out that problem animals which raid chicken coops can be
easily live-trapped for translocation. Although 17% of Namibian farmers who indicated
that servals were present on their land reported livestock predation, none took any
control measures (legally permissible), indicating that the problem is not serious. For
comparison, 36% of the farmers reporting stock predation by African wildcats took control
measures (Joubert et al. 1982). The serval’s preference for rodent prey should
actually benefit farmers: Geertsema (1985) calculated that an adult serval will
eat some 4,000 rodents a year.
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© 1996 IUCN - The World Conservation Union