Editing Serval (section)

==Characteristics==
[[File:Serval at Auckland Zoo - Flickr - 111 Emergency.jpg|thumb|A captive serval in [[Auckland Zoo]]]]
[[File:Serval imported from iNaturalist photo 27691409 on 6 December 2024.jpg|thumb|[[Melanism|Melanistic]] serval, in [[Kenya]]]]
[[File:WhiteServalPharaoh.jpg|thumb|[[Leucism|Leucistic]] serval at [[Big Cat Rescue]]]]
The serval is a slender, medium-sized cat; it stands {{cvt|54|to(-)|62|cm}} at the shoulder and weighs {{cvt|8|to(-)|18|kg}}, but females tend to be lighter. The head-and-body length is typically between {{cvt|67|and(-)|100|cm}}.<ref name="estes">{{cite book|last1=Estes|first1=R. D. |title=The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates |date=2004 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, US|isbn=978-0-520-08085-0 |pages=361–363 |edition=Forth |chapter=Serval ''Felis serval'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858/page/361}}</ref> Males tend to be sturdier than females.<ref name=Kingdon>{{cite book |editor1=Kingdon, J. |editor1-link=Jonathan Kingdon |editor2=Happold, D. |editor3=Butynski, T. |editor4=Hoffmann, M. |editor5=Happold, M. |editor6=Kalina, J. |title=Mammals of Africa |year=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London, UK|isbn=978-1-4081-8996-2 |pages=180–184 |last1=Hunter, L. |last2=Bowland, J. |chapter=''Leptailurus serval'' Serval |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B_07noCPc4kC&pg=RA4-PA181}}</ref> Prominent characteristics include the small head, large ears, spotted and striped coat, long legs and a black-tipped tail that is around {{cvt|30|cm}} long.<ref name="LL">{{cite book |last1=Liebenberg|first1=L.|title=A Field Guide to the Animal Tracks of Southern Africa |date=1990 |publisher=David Philip Publishers |location=Cape Town, South Africa |isbn=978-0-86486-132-0 |page=257 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5570017}}</ref><ref name=Schutze>{{cite book |last1=Schütze |first1=H. |title=Field Guide to the Mammals of the Kruger National Park |date=2002 |publisher=Struik Publishers |location=Cape Town, South Africa |isbn=978-1-86872-594-6 |pages=98–99 |url={{Google Books |id=uA3KTUA8kO8C|page=98 |plainurl=yes}} }}{{Dead link |date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The serval has the longest legs of any cat relative to its body size, largely due to the greatly elongated [[metatarsal]] bones in the feet.<ref name=WCoW>{{cite book |last1=Sunquist |first1=M. |last2=Sunquist |first2=F. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |title=Wild Cats of the World |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago, US |pages=142–151 |isbn=978-0-226-77999-7 |chapter=Serval ''Leptailurus serval'' (Schrever, 1776) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hFbJWMh9-OAC&pg=PA143}}</ref><ref name=Hunterwcw>{{cite book|last1=Hunter |first1=L. |title=Wild Cats of the World |date=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London, UK |isbn=978-1-4729-2285-4 |page=75}}</ref> The toes are elongated as well, and unusually mobile.<ref name=WCoW/>

The coat is basically golden-yellow to buff and extensively marked with black spots and stripes.<ref name=Kingdon/> The spots show great variation in size.<ref name=WCoW/> Facial features include the whitish chin, spots, and streaks on the cheeks and the forehead, brownish or greenish eyes, white whiskers on the [[snout]] and near the ears, which are black on the back with a white horizontal band in the middle; three to four black stripes run from the back of the head onto the shoulders and then break into rows of spots. The white underbelly has dense and fluffy basal fur, and the soft guard hairs (the layer of fur protecting the basal fur) are {{cvt|5|-|10|cm}} long. Guard hairs are up to {{cvt|3|cm}} long on the neck, back and flanks, and are merely {{cvt|1|cm}} long on the face.<ref name=Schutze/><ref name=Skinner/> The serval has a good sense of smell, hearing and vision.<ref name=Schutze/>

The serval is similar to the [[sympatric]] [[caracal]], but has a narrower [[Spoor (animal)|spoor]], a rounder skull, and lacks its prominent ear tufts.<ref name=Kingdon/> The closely set ears can rotate up to 180 degrees independently of each other<ref name=WCoW/> and help in locating prey efficiently.<ref name=Hunter>{{cite book|last1=Hunter |first1=L. |last2=Hinde |first2=G. |title=Cats of Africa: Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation |year=2005 |publisher=Struik Publishers |location=Cape Town, South Africa |isbn=978-1-77007-063-9 |pages=76; 158}}</ref>

Both [[Leucism|leucistic]] and [[Melanism|melanistic]] servals have been observed in captivity. In addition, the melanistic variant has been sighted in the wild,<ref name=WCoW/> with most melanistic servals having been observed in [[Kenya]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Exclusive: Rare Black Wildcat Caught on Film in Africa |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/black-serval-kenya-melanism-cats |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228005227/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/black-serval-kenya-melanism-cats |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 February 2021 |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=Animals}}</ref>