Editing Serval (section)

{{Short description|Medium-sized wild cat}}
{{About|the African feline species| | }}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2016}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Leptailurus serval 61666728, crop.jpg
| image_caption = A serval in [[Zimbabwe]]
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Leptailurus serval'' |amends=2015 |author=Thiel, C. |date=2019 |page=e.T11638A156536762 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T11638A156536762.en |access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A2 
| status2_system = CITES 
| status2_ref = <ref name=iucn/>
| genus = Leptailurus
| parent_authority = [[Nikolai Severtzov|Severtzov]], 1858
| species = serval
| display_parents = 3
| authority = ([[Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber|Schreber]], 1776)
| synonyms_ref =
| synonyms = {{collapsible list
|''Felis serval'' {{small|(Schreber, 1776)}}
|''F. capensis'' {{small|(Forster, 1781)}}
|''F. galeopardus'' {{small|([[Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest|Desmarest]], 1820)}}
|''F. algiricus'' {{small|(J. B. Fischer, 1829)}}
|''F. servalina'' {{small|([[William Ogilby|Ogilby]], 1839)}}
|''F. senegalensis'' {{small|([[René Lesson|Lesson]], 1839)}}
|''F. ogilbyi'' {{small|([[Heinrich Rudolf Schinz|Schinz]], 1844)}}
|''Caracal serval''<ref name=Johnson_al2006>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.1122277 |title=The Late Miocene radiation of modern Felidae: A genetic assessment |year=2006 |last1=Johnson|first1=W. E. |journal=Science |volume=311 |issue=5757 |pages=73–77 |last2=Eizirik |first2=E.|last3=Pecon-Slattery |first3=J. |last4=Murphy |first4=W.J. |last5=Antunes |first5=A. |last6=Teeling |first6=E. |last7=O'Brien |first7=S. J. |pmid=16400146 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1230866 |bibcode=2006Sci...311...73J |s2cid=41672825}}</ref>
}}
| range_map = Serval_distribution.jpg
| range_map_caption = 
{{leftlegend|#d37c20|native range in 2015<ref name=iucn/>}}
{{leftlegend|#f0ad18|extinct}}
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision =
* ''L. s. serval''
* ''L. s. constantina''
* ''L. s. lipostictus''
}}

The '''serval''' ('''''Leptailurus serval''''') is a wild [[small cat]] native to Africa. It is widespread in [[sub-Sahara]]n 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 [[Monotypic taxon|sole]] member of the [[genus]] '''''Leptailurus'''''. Three [[subspecies]] are recognised. The serval is a slender, medium-sized cat that stands {{cvt|54|-|62|cm}} tall at the shoulder and has a weight range of approximately {{cvt|9|-|18|kg}}. 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 [[Otomys|vlei rat]]s, small birds, frogs, insects, and reptiles, using its sense of hearing to locate prey. It leaps over {{cvt|2|m|ftin}} above the ground to land on the prey on its forefeet, and finally kills it with a bite on the neck or the head. Both sexes establish highly overlapping [[home range]]s of {{cvt|10|to|32|km2}}, 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 [[gestation]]al period of two to three months, a litter of one to four is born. The kittens 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.