Editing Serval (section)

==Behaviour and ecology==
[[File:Serval from back.jpg|thumb|upright|The serval's white spots on the backs of its ears are thought to play an important role in communication.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leyhausen |first1=P. |year=1979 |title=Cat behavior: the predatory and social behavior of domestic and wild cats |location=Berlin |publisher=Garland Publishing, Incorporated |page=281 |isbn=9780824070175}}</ref>]]
The serval is active in the day as well as at night; activity might peak in early morning, around twilight, and at midnight. Servals might be active for a longer time on cool or rainy days. During the hot midday, they rest or [[personal grooming|groom themselves]] in the shade of bushes and grasses. Servals remain cautious of their vicinity, though they may be less alert when no large carnivores or prey animals are around. Servals walk as much as {{cvt|2|to|4|km}} every night.<ref name=LL/><ref name=estes/> Servals will often use special trails to reach certain hunting areas. A solitary animal, there is little social interaction among servals except in the mating season, when pairs of opposite sexes may stay together. The only long-lasting bond appears to be of the mother and her cubs, which leave their mother only when they are a year old.<ref name=Kingdon/>

Both males and females establish [[home range]]s, and are most active only in certain regions ('core areas') within them. The area of these ranges can vary from {{cvt|10|to|32|sqkm}}; prey density, availability of cover and human interference could be significant factors in determining their size.<ref name=Kingdon/><ref name=Geertsema>{{cite journal|last1=Geertsema|first1=A. A.|title=Aspects of the ecology of the serval ''Leptailurus serval'' in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania |journal=Netherlands Journal of Zoology |date=1984 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=527–610 |doi=10.1163/002829685X00217 |s2cid=83574432}}</ref> Home ranges might overlap extensively, but occupants show minimal interaction. Aggressive encounters are rare, as servals appear to mutually avoid one another rather than fight and defend their ranges. On occasions where two adult servals meet in conflict over territory, a ritualistic display may ensue, in which one will place a paw on the other's chest while observing their rival closely; this interaction rarely escalates into a fight.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Serval |url=https://www.theanimalfacts.com/mammals/serval/ |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=The Animal Facts}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Serval |url=http://www.altinawildlife.com/serval/ |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=Altina Wildlife Park}}</ref>

Agonistic behavior involves vertical movement of the head (contrary to the horizontal movement observed in other cats), raising the hair and the tail, displaying the teeth and the white band on the ears, and yowling. Individuals mark their ranges and preferred paths by [[scent marking|spraying urine]] on nearby vegetation, dropping scats along the way, and rubbing their mouths on grasses or the ground while releasing saliva. Servals tend to be sedentary, shifting only a few kilometres away even if they leave their range.<ref name=Kingdon/><ref name=estes/>

The serval is vulnerable to [[hyena]]s and [[African wild dog]]s. It will seek cover to escape its view, and, if the predator is very close, immediately flee in long leaps, changing its direction frequently and with the tail raised.<ref name=estes/> The serval is an efficient, though not frequent, climber; an individual was observed to have climbed a tree to a height of more than {{cvt|9|m}} to escape dogs.<ref name=WCoW/> Like many cats, the serval is able to [[purr]];<ref name="Eklund_purring">{{cite web |last=Eklund |first=R. |date=2004 |title=Devoted to field purrinng |url=http://purring.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727182328/http://purring.org/ |archive-date=2024-07-27 |access-date=2013-03-07 |website=Purring.org |at=4.2 Serval}}</ref> it also has a high-pitched chirp, and can hiss, cackle, growl, grunt, and meow.<ref name=WCoW/>

===Hunting and diet===
[[File:Leptailurus serval ssp. serval.jpg|thumb|A serval pouncing]]
The serval is a [[carnivore]] that preys on [[rodent]]s, particularly [[vlei rat]]s, shrews, small birds, hares, frogs, insects, and reptiles, and also feeds on grass that can facilitate digestion or act as an [[emetic]].<ref name=ADW>{{cite web |title=''Leptailurus serval'' (Serval) |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Leptailurus_serval |work=[[Animal Diversity Web]]}}</ref> Up to 90% of the preyed animals weigh less than {{cvt|200|g|oz}}; occasionally it also hunts larger prey such as [[duiker]]s, [[hare]]s, [[flamingo]]es, [[spoonbill]]s, [[waterfowl]] and young [[antelope]]s.<ref name=WCoW/><ref name=ADW/> The percentage of rodents in the diet has been estimated at 80–97%.<ref name=Geertsema/><ref name=Smithers1978>{{cite journal |author=Smithers, R. H. N. |title=Serval ''Felis serval'' Schreber, 1776|journal=South African Journal of Wildlife Research |year=1978 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=29–37}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bowland|first1=J. M.|last2=Perrin|first2=M. R.|title=Diet of serval (''Leptailurus serval'') in a highland region of Natal|journal=South African Journal of Zoology |year=1993 |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=132–135 |doi=10.1080/02541858.1993.11448308 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Apart from vlei rats, other rodents recorded frequently in the diet include the [[African grass rat]], [[African pygmy mouse]] and [[Mastomys|multimammate mice]].<ref name=Kingdon/>

The serval locates prey by its strong sense of hearing. It remains motionless for up to 15 minutes; when prey is within range, it jumps with all four feet up to {{cvt|4|m}} in the air and attacks with its front paws.<ref name=Smithers1978/> To kill small prey, it slowly stalks it, then pounces on it with the forefeet directed toward the chest, and finally lands on it with its forelegs outstretched. The prey, receiving a blow from one or both of the serval's forepaws, is incapacitated, and the serval bites it on the head or the neck and immediately swallows it. Snakes are dealt more blows and even bites, and may be consumed even as they are moving. Larger prey, such as larger birds, are killed by a sprint followed by a leap to catch them as they are trying to flee, and are eaten slowly. Servals have been observed [[hoarding (animal behavior)|caching]] large kills to be consumed later by concealing them in dead leaves and grasses. Servals typically get rid of the internal organs of rodents while eating, and pluck feathers from birds before consuming them. During a leap, a serval can reach more than {{cvt|2|m|ftin}} above the ground and cover a horizontal distance of up to {{cvt|3.6|m|ftin}}. Servals appear to be efficient hunters; a study in [[Ngorongoro]] showed that servals were successful in half of their hunting attempts, regardless of the time of hunting, and a mother serval was found to have a success rate of 62%. The number of kills in a 24-hour period averaged 15 to 16. [[Scavenger|Scavenging]] has been observed, but very rarely.<ref name=WCoW/><ref name=Kingdon/>

===Reproduction===
[[File:Servals Thoiry 19801.jpg|thumb|left|Two young servals]]
Both sexes become [[sexually mature]] when they are one to two years old. [[Oestrus]] in females lasts one to four days; it typically occurs once or twice a year, though it can occur three or four times a year if the mother loses her litters.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wackernagel|first1=H.|title=A note on breeding the serval cat ''Felis serval'' at Basle Zoo|journal=International Zoo Yearbook|date=1968|volume=8|issue=1|pages=46–47|doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1968.tb00433.x}}</ref> Observations of captive servals suggest that when a female enters oestrus, the rate of urine-marking increases in her as well as the males in her vicinity. Zoologist [[Jonathan Kingdon]] described the behavior of a female serval in oestrus in his 1997 book ''East African Mammals''. He noted that she would roam restlessly, spray urine frequently holding her vibrating tail in a vertical manner, rub her head near the place she has marked, salivate continuously, give out sharp and short "miaow"s that can be heard for quite a distance, and rub her mouth and cheeks against the face of an approaching male. The time when mating takes place varies geographically; births peak in winter in Botswana, and toward the end of the dry season in the [[Ngorongoro Crater]]. A trend generally observed across the range is that births precede the breeding season of [[Muridae|murid]] rodents.<ref name=WCoW/>

[[Gestation]] lasts for two to three months, following which a litter of one to four kittens is born. Births take place in secluded areas, for example in dense vegetation or burrows abandoned by aardvarks and porcupines. Blind at birth, newborns weigh nearly {{convert|250|g|oz|0|abbr=on}} and have soft, woolly hair (greyer than in adults) and unclear markings. The eyes open after nine to thirteen days. Weaning begins a month after birth; the mother brings small kills to her kittens and calls out to them as she approaches the "den".<ref name=WCoW/> A mother with young kittens rests for a notably lesser time and has to spend almost twice the time and energy for hunting than do other servals.<ref name=Geertsema/> If disturbed, the mother shifts her kittens one by one to a more secure place.<ref name="Skinner">{{cite book |year=2005 |title=The mammals of the southern African subregion |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521844185 |editor1-last=Skinner |editor1-first=J. D. |editor2-last=Chimimba |editor2-first=C. T. |edition=Third |last1=Mills |first1=M. G. L. |chapter=Genus ''Leptailurus'' Severtzov, 1858 |pages=408–412 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iqwEYkTDZf4C&pg=PA408}}</ref> Kittens eventually start accompanying their mother to hunts. At around six months, they acquire their permanent [[canine teeth|canine]]s and begin to hunt themselves; they leave their mother at about 12 months of age. They may reach sexual maturity from 12 to 25 months of age.<ref name=WCoW/> Life expectancy is about 10 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tonkin |first=B. A. |year=1972 |title=Notes on longevity in three species of felids |journal=International Zoo Yearbook |volume=12 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1972.tb02319.x |pages=181–182}}</ref>