Serval
Leptailurus serval (Schreber, 1776)
The serval (Leptailurus serval), also called the serval cat, is a mammal in the family Felidae, subfamily Felinae, within the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and nocturnal carnivore with an adult body mass of 12 kg.
Quick facts about the serval
Its main foods include african pygmy mouse, duiker, gazella, hyracoidea, lepus capensis, madoqua, rabbit, rattus, great egret and phoenicopterus. The IUCN Red List assesses the serval as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 12 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Height
- 54 cm – 62 cmsrc for Height
- Lifespan
- 22.4 years – 23 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- african pygmy mouse, african spoonbill, duiker, eastern rock elephant shrew, eurasian spoonbill, gazella and 8 moresrc for Main food
- Habitat
- grassland, wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 71.8 days – 75 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.35src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.25 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the serval?
Photos of the serval
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the serval live?
Not recorded
What is the serval?
The serval (Leptailurus serval) is a wild small cat native to Africa. It is widespread in sub-Saharan countries, where it inhabits grasslands, wetlands, moorlands and bamboo thickets. Across its range, it occurs in protected areas, and hunting it is either prohibited or regulated in range countries.
It is the sole member of the genus Leptailurus. Three subspecies are recognised. The serval is a slender, medium-sized cat that stands 54–62 cm (21–24 in) tall at the shoulder and has a weight range of approximately 9–18 kg (20–40 lb). It is characterised by a small head, large ears, a golden-yellow to buff coat spotted and striped with black, and a short, black-tipped tail. The serval has the longest legs of any cat relative to its body size.
The serval is a solitary carnivore and active both by day and at night. It preys on rodents, particularly vlei rats, small birds, frogs, insects, and reptiles, using its hearing to locate prey. It leaps over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) above the ground to land on the prey on its forefeet, and kills it with a bite to the neck or the head. Both sexes establish highly overlapping home ranges of 10 to 32 km2 (3.9 to 12.4 sq mi), and mark them with feces and saliva. Mating takes place at different times of the year in different parts of their range, but typically once or twice a year in an area. After a gestational period of two to three months, a litter of one to four kittens is born. They are weaned at the age of one month and begin hunting on their own at six months of age. They leave their mother at the age of around 12 months.
From the Wikipedia article “Serval” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Serval&oldid=1379486873), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the serval sound like?
Is the serval endangered?
The serval is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the serval classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyFelidae
- genusLeptailurus
- SpeciesLeptailurus serval (Schreber, 1776)
Synonyms Caracal serval, Felis brachyura, Felis capensis, Felis serval, Felis togoensis, Leptailurus serval beirae, Leptailurus serval brachyurus, Leptailurus serval faradjius, Leptailurus serval ferrarii, Leptailurus serval hamiltoni, Leptailurus serval hindei, Leptailurus serval kempi, Leptailurus serval kivuensis, Leptailurus serval lonnbergi, Leptailurus serval mababiensis, Leptailurus serval pantastictus, Leptailurus serval phillipsi, Leptailurus serval pococki, Leptailurus serval robertsi, Leptailurus serval tanae, Leptailurus serval togoensis
Other names and names in other languages (32)
- Serval catEnglish
- TierboskatAfrikaans
- بجArabic
- سرفالArabic
- قط الأنمرArabic
- Serval stepníCzech
- ServalkatzeGerman
- ΣερβάλGreek
- servaaliFinnish
- Chat-tigreFrench
- סרוואלHebrew
- szerválHungarian
- ՍերվալArmenian
- ServaloItalian
- Gattopardo africanoItalian
- サーバルJapanese
- KĩrũũmiKikuyu
- JijãoKimbundu
- JijangoKimbundu
- 서벌Korean
- ServalasLithuanian
- serwal sawannowyPolish
- เซอร์วัลThai
- แมวเซอร์วัลThai
- etotsweTswana
- seBalabolokwaneTswana
- TadiTswana
- СервалUkrainian
- HlosiXhosa
- Ŋwarɩmxsm
- 藪貓Chinese
- nDloziZulu
Relatives of the serval
Other species in the same family Felidae.
Lion
Panthera leo
Tiger
Panthera tigris
Leopard
Panthera pardus
Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
Snow leopard
Panthera uncia
Jaguar
Panthera onca
CompareServal vs LionServal vs TigerServal vs LeopardServal vs Cheetah
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a serval?
The serval is a mammal in the family Felidae and the order Carnivora. Its size class is medium, based on adult body mass.
How heavy is a serval?
An adult serval has a body mass of 12 kg.
What does a serval eat?
The serval is a carnivore. Its main foods include african pygmy mouse, duiker, gazella, hyracoidea, lepus capensis, madoqua, old world porcupine, rabbit, rattus and african spoonbill.
Is the serval endangered?
No. The serval is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a serval live?
Sources give a lifespan of 22.4 years for the serval, with values up to 23 years.
How many young does a serval have?
A serval has 2.35 young per litter and 2.5 litters per year, after a gestation period of 72 days.
What is the scientific name authority for the serval?
The authority for Leptailurus serval is written as (Schreber, 1776).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Serval (Leptailurus serval). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/serval
“Serval (Leptailurus serval).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/serval.
@misc{serval_2026,
title = {Serval (Leptailurus serval)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/serval},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}